More Like A Cruel Joke
by PennyForTheGuy
Summary: Wrenched back to life by a sorcerer 500 years after his time, Maze is left reeling in the face of the new Albion. Yet now that he is finally free of Jack he devotes himself yet again to being a Hero, though its far from easy with the Guild in ruins.
1. Prolouge

More Like A Cruel Joke

Prolouge

Maze burst out of the earth, choking on the dank dirt. He gasped for air desperately clawing himself out the ground fearing being swallowed up again into that darkness. His nails raked the grass and finally he grabbed hold of a clump of long weeds with roots strong enough to give him leverage. Slowly, laboriously he wrenched himself free of the earth then felt spasms size his stomach. He wretched up yet more dirt, sputtered, wheezed, and fell back taking in huge gulps of air. Despite this horrifying awakening he was beginning to smile, simply because he was breathing. Last thing he knew he was lying on his back, taking what he thought was his last breathes while the great Hero, that once helpless little boy, stared at him.

He sat there, counting the beats of his heart and his breathes not caring in the least where he was. Finally he climbed onto shaky legs and took a few small steps forward, only to have his bare toes collide with something soft and warm. The night was to dark and his eyes were still unused to seeing again, but he could distinctly smell fresh blood. He knelt down and felt at the corpse it could not have been more than 20 minutes old, the skin was still warm and the fingers were still loose and pliable. As his eyes began to focus Maze noticed how oddly the man was dressed, heeled shoes, a long coat, thin stockings and knee length pants, it was all rather effeminate by his reckoning.

Maze then noticed his own clothes, his golden mail and purple robes were gone, along with his trinkets and trophies. He wore only a pair of pants and a loose shirt, made of coarse linen. He tsked, supremely annoyed that the people of Hook Coast had seen fit to rob him whilst they thought he was dead, they would not have dared had they known he lived. His will lines however still glowed over his skin, he reached inward to his mana supply and found it to be replenishing. He may be without weapons but he was still far from helpless.

He stood and left the man's body, but took a small dagger that had slipped from the corpse's hand. It was a savage little thing, its hilt set with blood stones and the blade rippling like the root of an evil tree. He attempted to take a few more steps but soon doubled over from pure exhaustion, his mana may be at full strength but his body still needed to recover. His now empty stomach rumbled and ached, and his muscles cried for rest. Maze lifted himself to one knee and cast a healing spell on himself, soothing his pains but not helping his hunger. He considered searching the body again but thought better of it, hearing the cluck of nearby chickens.

He lifted a hand and shot a small lightning bolt at one, killing it in an instant. He crawled over to it and used the dagger to skin it quickly, then did his best to flash cook it with some conjured fire. It seared on the outside and was nearly raw with but it was food none the less and he ate as much as his upset stomach would allow. Finally he crawled into some nearby bushes, under which was a patch of cool soft grass and he gave into his body's final plea and fell asleep, storing up the strength to get himself out of this place and to safety at dawn' first light.


	2. Chapter 1: All in Ashes

Chapter 1

One of the chickens crowed and woke Maze with a start. The bird's harsh noise still rang in his ears made his head throb. He winced against the strong light of the early morning sun and climbed out of the bush stumbling on the rough cobblestones. For the first time he was able to survey his surrounds, he saw he was in a large graveyard with tombstones ranging from worn and unreadable to brand new with mounds of fresh earth lying beneath them. There was a large mausoleum on the other side of a small canyon and as his eyes roamed over the cemetery they came to rest on the body he found last night.

Rigor mortis was beginning to set in and the man's skin was pallid. Maze now noticed another odd choice of clothing; a bleached wig lay next to man's head with his own dark hair spilling out of it. Maze wrinkled his nose and stepped over the body, turning to examine the hole he'd crawled out of halfway hoping to find some of his belongs. There was one thing still in the earth, a golden ring given to him in his youth by a 'grateful' young woman. He slipped the ring back onto his right hand and got up again, fighting the rush of blood to head and made his way towards the gate of the graveyard.

He found this cemetery was within a town of huge proportions, like none he'd ever seen. The buildings were all at least as large as the biggest mansions in Bowerstone, yet hardly any of them were anywhere near as luxurious or well maintained. Everything was covered n a fine layer of soot and grime with weeds popping out between the cobblestones to alleyways. He coughed occasionally as seemingly random clouds of black ash wafted through the streets. He avoided people as well as he could, but still caught glimpses of them from dark alcoves.

It seemed the dead man was not the only one with odd clothing tastes; indeed his choices in fashion were quite tame compared to what some of these loonies had on. Women he knew wore simple things that still accentuated their natural forms, these ladies wore some kind of false hips under their lacy skirts, low cut corsets and huge hats or ridiculous, ugly white wigs.

He felt sorry for some for the men, so covered in velvet and lace that they barely resembled men at all. The guards, though recognizable by their bulk, carried something he could only surmise were weapons, wooden handles with long metal tubes attached, and some kind of trigging mechanism.

_Must be something to do with Will_… he thought.

As he moved through the town he tried to find the center, the square, and found it soon enough. A huge stone tower crowned by a giant clock stood by the entrance to the town, below which all manner of people milled about buying and selling wares. One portly middle-aged man wandered about ringing a massive bell and yelling arbitrary news at the top of his lungs. Maze ignored him until one bellowed word caught his ear.

"…Bowerstone!"

Bowerstone? He thought he was near Hook Coast, had the Hero taken him back to the area near the Guild? Then what town was this?

"Hear ye! Hear ye! The latest exploits of the Hero Sparrow! Listen to her intrepid adventures at the Cow & Corset! Come one, come all citizens of Bowerstone!"

Maze froze. Bowerstone? Bowerstone? This couldn't be Bowerstone, Bowerstone was a clean, cared for city, with proud and well rounded citizens. It was not some giant dumping ground for humanity, it was not some haven for fops and whores. He gnashed his teeth and turned away from the marketplace jogging aimlessly through the alleys. What in the name of Avo had happened to Albion, and how had it happened so _fast_?

Suddenly he collided with another person, sending both of them down onto their arses. Maze winced and heaved himself back onto his feet, his muscles already complaining. The other man was still reeling, Maze saw his clothing worn and muck covered and took him for a bum at first, until his cronies began talking and he saw the rest of the scene.

"OI, what's you think you're doin? Bashin' into 'im like that? I've half a mind to clock you right here."

The man's similarly dressed friend put up a couple of scrappy fists, his meager frame far from intimidating. Maze looked down his nose at him, not hard to do considering he saw at least two heads taller. He heard some whimpering and glanced down to see two tiny girls cowering in the corner, clinging to each other. Maze's face darkened and he fixed his gaze on the man trying to show him a fight.

"There is nothing so low in this world as a grown man who preys on children." He said, his voice hoarse but no less frightening.

The man's knees visibly shook and beads of sweat began rolling down his forehead as Maze charged his Will and his marks began to glow with his ferocity.

"The hell…" muttered the man still below him. Maze glanced down at him and released a small warning blast of electricity; barely enough to singe his hair but you'd think Maze he transformed into a demon from the reaction it got. The man and his friend ran off screaming, practically pissing in their already dirty trousers. Maze enjoyed this boost of ego, and turned his attention to the two little girls again, softening his face and kneeling down, though he had to crouch to get to their level.

"There there now, danger is gone."

He reached for one of them and she cried, shaking her head as his hand dear near.

"Easy," he cooed, "I only want to see if you're hurt."

"No, no!" she screamed.

"Leave us alone! We don't have anything!"

Maze became confused; did these children not know a Hero when they saw one?

"I don't want anything but to help you. Did you not hear what I said to that awful man? I am your friend." He reached out again.

"No! You'll hurt us with that lightning!"

Ah, that was it, these poor things weren't used to seeing magic yet.

"That lightning is under my complete control, it is part of my power. Only by my command does it hurt anything, and I do not wish to harm you in the least."

The girls still seemed frightened but did not recoil as he placed a large hand on the shoulder of one. He smiled reassuringly and bowed his head, summoning his healing spell yet again. Even they weren't hurt they surely felt the good effect of the spell. As the magic faded the girls relaxed, their faces now painted with shock and awe as they let go of each other.

"What are you?" one asked.

Maze smiled again, lifting his head.

"A Hero, my name is Maze."

The older of the girls wrinkled her nose.

"Weird name sir." She said.

"But a name nonetheless." He replied, "Now, pray tell what are yours?"

"My name is Blossom," said the older, "this is my mate Dana."

Maze nodded to them.

"My honor to meet you, young ladies." Dana giggled and Blossom became as red as a beet.

"Now, you must help me. I've only recently awoken after a great battle, and I have little idea of where I am."

Blossom raised an eyebrow.

"Must have hit you hard to make you forget what Bowerstone looks like." She said.

Maze groaned, so this was Bowerstone, what a terrible turn it had taken.

"Where is the Mayor? I'd like to have a word with him."

"Lord Fairfax is gone sir, missing nearly 10 years. How do you not remember? Did they hit you with a boulder?"

Dana giggled.

"More like a series of swords and arrows, my dear child. I must return to the Hero's Guild with all haste." Maze stood, his giant figure blocking the sun from the children's eyes.

"Hero's Guild? Was' that?" whispered Dana, speaking for the first time. Maze turned his eyes back down to her, dumfounded.

"Child, dear child, how do you not know of the place where _all_ Heroes train, the place _all_ Heroes call home?"

"Dunno," said Blossom, "Maybe cause Sparrow is the only Hero we ever heard of, 'sides you. Never heard of no Hero's Guild."

Maze rubbed his temples.

"Fine, perhaps you know of a great building not far from here, dating back hundreds of years, with many strong young men and women going in to learn the martial arts."

"Don't know anything like that neither. No big buildings outside Bowerstone sir, not till the next town anyway."

"Yes there is!" squealed Dana, "There's that big placed by the gypsy camp, I sawr it when my auntie took me there!"

"You mean that moldy ruin by Bower Lake?" said Blossom with a scowl, "That's no Guild, that place's been abandoned since the Age of Heroes ended."

The children continued arguing, not noticing how Maze now stood frozen, horrified. His stomach did sickening flips and threatened to loose the meager meal he'd had the night before as Blossom's words rang in his ears. I couldn't be, it just couldn't, Albion needed the Guild, always had, always would. Blossom and Dana stopped arguing as a flash of blue light and a rush of displaced air startled them, they looked to where Maze had stood and saw only empty space, and their jaws dropped.

Maze teleported to the place he knew the Guild to be, fully expecting to see the great oak doors emblazoned with the Guild Seal. Instead he found himself standing on a great hill, over looking a low lying lake, in the middle of which stood an island with a small wooden structure. He looked about and indeed saw moldering ruins about the edge of the lake. He eyes widened in horror as he recognized some of the runes on the stones. He shook his head and teleported again. He found himself now inside a cave, beneath the lake, he ran along the hard stone floor, barely noticing the small beetles that attempted to attack him. He instinctively released lightning shocks as he ran, then vaulted into a giant pool of water pushing himself on. At last he came out of the water and to a locked door bearing the great seal.

A magic key floated nearby but being a Guild Head his magic was enough to force the lock open. It revealed another tunnel at the end of which was the entrance to the hallowed Chamber of Fate. Maze wasn't sure if he felt comforted by the sight as he walked the causeway, seeing the fallen stones and thick layer of dust.

Inside the Chamber was partially destroyed by either attack or time, yet the raised platform from which he and Weaver the Guild Master used to conduct ceremonies was still there, and aged tapestries showing the life of the Hero of Oakvale hung on the walls. Maze felt some pangs of grief as he gazed at the scenes, many of which he'd seen himself or had a hand in.

He ran his fingers over the walls as he walked around the room, examining the faded images. The last showed the Hero he saved as a child fighting a great dragon, surely the ultimate form Jack had so often boasted of. Maze stared at it for a long while, falling to his knees with tears running down his face but with no sobs to herald them.

_The Guild…destroyed. The Heroes, dead. Jack of Blades, The Hero of Oakvale, Weaver, Briar Rose, Thunder, Whisper, all forgotten but two, and even those two are barely more than whispers. _

_What…has…happened?_


	3. Chapter 2: Too Much Truth

Chapter 2

Maze lay in the center of the platform, curled on his side makes lines in the dust with a finger. He'd forgotten how long he'd lain there lost in what was. His mind only reeled with the same two questions, what had happened to him, why was the Guild destroyed?

The sound of light footsteps clicking down the causeway stirred him, and he sat up to face the door, magic charging, Will lines flaring. This was still the Chamber of Fate, still a sacred place, and he would defend it as such. The door slowly swung open to reveal a tall, middle-aged blind woman dressed as a gypsy.

"Keep your magic reined, Maze. I did not come here to fight."

Maze raised an eyebrow, only relaxing his magic a small amount.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Theresa." She said, not crossing the threshold.

"Theresa? The Hero of Oakvale's blind sister, the one who lived with bandits?"

"The same. But that was a very long time ago, Maze. My brother is long dead."

"It could not have been so long ago, your not more than 50."

Theresa smiled, it was a very burdened smile, as if she as long forgotten the freedoms of good humor.

"I'm far older than that. My mother's blood has let me live on, but my poor brother is many centuries in his grave."

Maze felt a knot in his stomach twist and a lump rise in his throat but fought keep his voice even and unconcerned.

"Centuries? Impossible, I…"

"500 years have passed," she cut him off, "Not long after my brother's death the Heroes of the Guild sank into corruption and the people tired under their yoke. Gunpowder came from lands to the east and with rifle and cannon the common people stormed the Guild, finally able to defeat a Hero no matter how skilled in magic or war. The Guild was left to ruins and there was no need nor want of Heroes. Magic is now all but forgotten and anyone who is a Hero often processes only one of the three virtues. Young Sparrow, descended from my dear little brother, is the only one alive who commands all three. Well, she was. Now there is you, Maze." She smiled again, a small sign of relief.

"500 years?" Maze could barely take in what she had said. "How, have I slept, for 500 years?"

Theresa frowned.

"I thought you to be a smart man. You woke in a graveyard, clawing your way out of an ancient, unmarked grave. That alone should tell you what happened."

Maze shook his head.

"I did not die, I did not die because I am alive here, now. No spell can bring back the dead."

"No spell in this time, or ours. But there was a spell in the height of the Old Kingdom that could. Few used it because to work, one had to sacrifice a life to give a life."

Maze's thought turned back to the dead man he'd stumbled over. He pulled out the dagger he'd taken, now recognizing the Old Kingdom runes of the hilt.

"That man, brought me back?" he said with astonishment.

"He did not perform the spell, but he did willingly give his life for yours."

Maze suddenly felt guilt for dismissing him so, for pawing at him for anything useful like he was some common bandit.

"Ah, you feel remorse." Said Theresa.

"What of it?"

"Garth chose well. Even though you were bound to Jack of Blades, you truly do have a good heart."

"Garth? He is the sorcerer who pulled my from death's grip?"

"Yes, the only one powerful enough to do so these days."

Maze sighed and ran a hand through his thick silver hair, still struggling wrap his brain around this.

"Come," said Theresa; beckoning to him, "You need rest and a good meal. You'll find safe haven in my camp."

Maze eyed her, not willing to simply trust her on accord, but felt his stomach gurgle and his body begin to beg for sleep again. He grunted and stood up, talking careful steps over to her. Running bare foot over debris covered stone floors had not been kind to him and he wasn't anxious to walk back out.

"How far to this camp?" he said, taking her offered hand.

"It's just a stone's throw from the lake, south of Bowerstone."

"Very well."

With he teleported them, trying to find the spot she spoke of in his mind's eye. What he once knew as the Lookout Point Picnic area was now a small gulley, filled with ramshackle wagons with colorful sheets and clothing strung between them. They appeared in a small thicket of trees just above it, and Theresa, not the slightest bit bothered by the teleportation, walked down the hill leading him to her own wagon.

Maze walked gingerly over the rocks and twigs, trying to ignore the stares from the gypsies as this tall man with odd glowing tattoos walked into their camp. Though they stared they did not question Theresa's judgment. Maze followed her into her caravan, brushing past the cloth door to see a rustic, cozy room covered on patchy but plump pillows and filled with well-worn furniture.

Theresa invited him to sit and his did, finding an awkward seat on a spindly dinner chair. The cushion over the chair was rather lumpy and made him lean slightly to the left. He already felt himself longing for his private quarters in the Guild, despite the fact they no longer existed. Theresa presented him with a bowl of fruit and celery, healthy and perhaps what his body needed but not what he was longing for.

Still he ate, all the while letting his thoughts wander on the news he still could not fully accept. He stared at the table; the only noises his own chewing and the quiet clatter of Theresa digging out various items to cook with. Maze's thought roamed over his memories of the Guild, he could see those hallowed halls, the apprentices practicing their three skills, full Heroes coming into the Map Room to fight over quest cards, common people being shown about by guards with looks of admiration and awe on their faces the entire time.

He remembered being a young Hero, charming girls who came on the tours, impressing them with his magic. He remembered the Guild falling into chaos, and he and Weaver fighting to restore it. He remembered how nervous valorous Weaver had been when they wanted him to become Guild Master when peace was restored. He remembered Weaver asking him to stand by his side as Head of the Guild, guiding the fresh new apprentices even as they were still young men. He remembered watching the years pass, the Guild grow stronger, Jack resurface and demand his service. He remembered bring that scared little boy to the Guild, defying Jack for the first time.

He remembered watching the boy grow up, looking to him as a surrogate father, becoming a Hero he and the whole of the Guild was proud of. He remembered the Hero grew so powerful it almost frightened, powerful enough to best the Arena, then Thunder, then himself. He remembered lying on his back in the cold snow as this Hero he had raised took the place he wanted in the world, the place that exceeded Jack's threat. He remembered how everything grew white, and the last thing before his eyes was that Hero looking on him as one might look on a dying pet.

Maze pursed his lips, biting back the swell of bitterness.

_I'm alive now, he is dead. A life was given to let me, not him, dig my way out of the grave. These people, this era, wants me…not the Hero of Oakvale._

He forced a smile onto his lips, repeating the thought over and over again letting it sink in. Theresa had stepped out to finish cooking over a fire, and Maze looked about his surroundings. He spied a small bed set into one side of the caravan but guessed it was hers. He bones ached for sleep and he spotted a loose blanket and some large pillows leaned up against the wall. He dragged them into a makeshift pallet and pulled the blanket over him, reminding himself to repay Theresa in kind when he woke. For now he left himself drift off, glad to fall into that dark void.

Theresa stepped back inside to find Maze passed out on the floor. She heaved a sigh and placed the fresh meat pie on the table.

"I would have offered you my bed. Your more chivalrous than I remember."

She pulled the blanket a little further over him and stepped out again to stroll the camp and wait for him to awaken.

Maze's bleary eyes opened to the sight of moonlight streaming in through the cracks in the caravan. He rubbed his forehead and sat up, wondering how long he'd slept. As he stood he saw the pie sitting on the table with plate and fork next to but felt little appetite. Instead he walking outside and sat down on the wagon's steps breathing in the clear night air.

Theresa soon walked up.

"I figured meat was more what you were wanting, but perhaps I was wrong."

Maze shook his head.

"I'm just not up for food at the moment, but I thank you."

She nodded.

"Those clothes will have to be replaced." She was right, the shirt and trousers he wore were still caked with grave dirt, and now sported new rips and tears from his journey through the alleys of Bowerstone and the caves leading to the Chamber of Fate. He played with the ring on his right hand, turning it about his finger, it was a habit he'd had when he'd lived before it seemed old habits really did die hard.

"I'm surprised it hasn't been looted," said Theresa, "My brother took your clasp when you died, and since you fell a traitor the Guild did little to defend your honor or your corpse."

"Then who buried me in Bowerstone?"

"My brother, who else? In the end he didn't care what you'd done especially after he found your journal about Avo's Tear."

"What?" Maze's head snapped up to meet her, "Avo's Tear? He did not keep the Sword of Aeons?"

"No, he tossed it into the abyss and spared me. He always had mother's heart."

"So, he tossed away the sword Jack of Blades lusted after and then claimed the one I chased, the one I was deemed 'unworthy' of." Maze's eyes blazed and his face twisted into a bitter smile, "What a Hero." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

"If you truly want that blade, it was buried with my brother, outside Oakvale. I'm sure his grave rests beneath some wheat patch in Oakfield now."

"And how am I to know he has not been looted like I was?"

"Because he died more revered than Avo, his resting place just as sacred as the Temple. When the Guild was attacked a few Heroes smashed the monument marking his tomb and scattered the stones so his body would be safe."

Maze's sardonic smile widened.

"Such devotion." He hung his head again.

"Maze, do you intend to squander your second chance by being envious of a dead man?" Theresa asked.

Maze lifted his again and eyed her with a look somewhere between bemusement and confusion.

"Second chance? Perhaps, but really this is more like… a very cruel joke."


	4. Chapter 3: Starting All Over Again

Chapter 3

Maze flexed his arms and rolled his shoulders, trying to get used to the light and flimsy cotton shirt. Theresa had provided him with some new clothes, but being of this era he found them completely unsuited to him. The trousers were far too tight, the shirt was more like a sail, the high floppy boots would certainly trip him up, and the rapier hanging from his belt felt unnatural at best. About the only thing he couldn't complain about were the colors, the outfit was a spectrum of blues, darkest at his boots and fading to a powder blue at his shirt. It fit with his Will lines, white hair and slightly olive complexion.

"So you do have a streak of vanity." Said Theresa, he could swear she read thoughts sometimes.

"Those clothes should do you fine for now, but I think you'll be able to scrounge up the cash to replace them soon enough."

Maze chuckled.

"If hobbes and bandits carry have the gold they used too, it'll be the first thing I do when I get back to town."

"Unfortunately killing the foes of good citizens of Albion doesn't pay like it used too. Even the great Sparrow has to do odd jobs to keep her purse full."

"What?" Maze's voice became dangerously low. "A Hero has to work a job just to get some gold?"

"All the time, since there is no longer a Guild to collect fees from people requesting a Hero's assistance." Theresa donned a wry smile. "You'd be best suited to either bartending or wood chopping I think."

Maze scoffed and busied himself with adjusting his sword belt.

"I'll need to make a new staff first thing. Are there any oaks of the age of 4 centuries left in Albion?"

"Deep within the south western forest there are trees of that age." Said Theresa, "Why that old?"

"The older the branch, the more powerful the staff can become. Its similar to a person getting wiser with age, if that makes any sense."

Theresa nodded and remained silent after that, watching Maze fuss over his clothes for a few more minutes, and then escorted him to the gate of the camp.

"Need I tell you to be cautious?" she said as the gate creaked open.

"If I wasn't cautious, I wouldn't have made it to the age I did." He meant it as a small joke but there was no hint of a smile from her.

"I know its your main weapon, but be careful with your magic. Your just as sure to attract unwanted gazes as you are to send all who see your spells fleeing."

"Thank you for the sage advice." He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "As soon as I have a new staff I'll come back and repay that debt."

"Don't, your needed out there, not here. Now go."

The silver haired wizard bowed to her, then stepped out into the early morning mist. Maze walked with no real rush, he rather enjoyed the isolated feel the mists gave. He wandered off the roads, heading into the woods Theresa described. The mist pervaded much longer between the trees and he was able to walk largely undetected by the various creatures of the forest. He slipped past a gathering of hobbes and a small bandit camp working his way deeper towards the trees he sought.

Further and further he strode, deeper than even most bandits would ever go. He heard a rumbling off in the trees and recognized the chortle of an Earth Troll. The creature didn't see him but had revealed itself to an unlucky wolf. He moved deeper still, till he was in a spot where the canopy was so thick barely more than slivers of sunlight penetrated to the ground. In this eerie place Maze heard an all too familiar growling.

Sure enough a Balverine was nearby, gnawing the rotted meat off the carcass of a fox. Maze stepped on some dried leaves and the Balverine whipped around, saw him, howled, and charged eager for a more satisfying meal. Maze smiled and braced himself, the Balverine smashed into him but instead of knocking him back the beast was thrown back and Maze remained steady on his feet. A blue glow surrounded his body, he'd cast the spell of Physical Shield as ling as he kept his mana reserve up this creature could not harm him.

Maze removed his sword from his belt but kept it sheathed, using it as a makeshift staff to throw bolt of dark energy at the Balverine. Every time the lupine monster got close to him he released a torrent of fire to knock it back again. Within a minute or so the monster was severely weakened, its was badly charred, one leg was shattered and several ribs had been bashed in. Maze drew his sword and leapt forward sunk his blade into its chest. The creature fell back, moaned, and died. As Maze side stepped its body it slowly began to morph back into whatever unlucky man it had been.

Not far away was a stand of trees that fit his requirements, their bark was nearly black with their age and their leaves were greener than emeralds. He stepped around the gnarled roots, and suddenly stopped. Amid the rest of the ancient trees was one he knew well. He hardly believed it at first but as he placed his hand on the smooth bark he smiled.

"Hello old friend. I'm glad to see you've persevered. I'm afraid I need your help again."

The same tree that gave him his staff when he graduated from the Guild still stood, larger, older, stronger, but still very much alive. Maze had chosen it because even then it dated back to the time of Nostro, now he placed his head against its trunk and again asked it to sacrifice one of its precious branches to help him help Albion. Once again the trees gave without hesitation, lowering and loosening a thick branch, shedding the leaves off it, and letting it snap off in Maze's hand.

Maze smiled warmly as he ran his hand over the branch, his magic forming it, tapering one end and twisting it into a circle. Except for the new shape Maze left the staff in its natural form, he found that the jewels and symbols so many other mages liked to use in their staffs added only to the look of the tool, not the power. He put the butt of his new staff to the ground and began to walk out of the woods, already feeling more himself with his preferred weapon in his hand again.

He exit from the forest was uneventful, and has he stepped onto the road again he winced against the high noon sun. He wasn't in any particular hurry, and apparently that was very appealing to the bandits. Maze sighed inwardly as they surrounded him; this was going to be rather boring. Once the one he guessed was the leader appeared and began the 'your money or your life' demand Maze placed his staff in front of him and loosed an energy bolt at the man, knocking him over in a torrent of blood before he could even finish the sentence.

_Hmm, didn't mean to make him explode. That old tree has gotten much more powerful, this staff will require a finer touch. _

The rest of the bandits were rooted in place on seeing their boss be blown to bits, and one of them was beginning to say something along the lines of

"What the 'ell was that?" when Maze loosed his force push on them. All of them rocketed back into the bushes and he heard the thuds of their landings. He'd tried to limit himself but still he'd over done it. He investigated a few of them, some were dead, some were slipping away, a few were merely injured.

Theresa was right. Bandits these days were either incredibly stupid and unintimidating or the people of Albion were just that poor. He found a whopping 200 gold on all of them, used to be just one bandit gave you that. Aside from the meager coins he found a few cheap jewelry items and some healing potions. He was glad to see that the art of potion making wasn't dead, yet from sniffing the bottles he surmised it had degraded a great deal.

Maze continued on his way back to Bowerstone, though he wasn't stopped by anyone else. More than once he saw men running through the woods, away from him. Apparently word traveled just as fast as it did 500 years ago. He approached the bridge leading into the Bowerstone Market as the sun was a few hours form setting, and was immediately besieged by a small gaggle of people. They'd all heard of his defeating the rouges, how he had no idea, but they all seemed to have quiet an intimate knowledge of the encounter.

One small girl asked him where he'd learned to command skies; others swore he used some Old Kingdom mind control, one minstrel claiming to be writing a song about his life's story asked him how one takes control of a man's tongue.

Maze's frown deepened with every question. Had people completely forgotten the stories of the Archon, or even the Heroes of the Guild? Those stories contained all the information needed by one who could not wield magic themselves. The giggling of some young girls broke him out of his annoyed musings. It was hushed laughter, that of some girls who have spotted someone they fancy. He looked around and saw them pointing to him, hiding their smiles behind their hands.

For a moment he saw another set of girls, cleaner, prettier, looking at a younger him the same way. In his memories he grinned, ran a hand through ebony black hair and moved in. Now he turned his eyes away and moved on, easier to do when seeing the blackened teeth they hid behind those faux shy gestures. As he walked her felt his depressingly light coin purse bounce against his thigh.

_Jobs, why would any self respecting Hero chop wood? There must be some paying quests to had, even without the Guild._

The Cow & Corset lay just past the clock tower. Maze decided try his luck there, he figured that tales of Sparrow's exploits might make some people start longing for heroic help as well.

When he stepped into the bar he bristled. The atmosphere was tense, everyone was moving away from a small gaggle of men that were having a mid-level argument. The men radiated the stench of ale and whiskey and their insults and jabs were getting worse every second. Maze wasn't interested in fighting again, especially inside of someone else property. He sought out the bard sitting on the opposite end of the room, who had stopped playing when he noticed how bad the fight was getting.

"If I may…" Maze gestured to the man's lute. The minstrel handed it to him with quivering fingers. Maze checked it quickly, it was modestly cared for but the strings were well tuned. He strode nearer to the men, doing little to catch their attention, and just things seemed to get their ugliest he plucked the strings, playing a melody that had been heard in the Temple of Avo for centuries.

The slow, soothing notes filled the tavern, making all take pause and drew their attention to Maze. Maze frowned a little in spite of himself, he was out of practice and the tune was better suited to a harp or lyre, but he played well enough to make the angry men forget their quarrel and ease the feelings of everyone in the room.

When he finished there was a long pause, then applause broke out. He looked around a saw everyone in the Tavern beaming, and more people were streaming through the door.

"Give us another!" said one woman.

Maze obliged and played another gentle tune, and then a few more before handing the lute back to its owner.

"I've only met a few people that play like you," said the man, "could you teach me?"

"The real key to music is practice and talent, since you already play I doubt there's little I could teach you that you don't already know."

"Could you at least show me that first song?"

Maze sighed, he didn't have time to teach a song.

"Tell you what, try to play it from memory a few times, if you can't get it right, I'll show you what your doing wrong."

The minstrel nodded and went back to his chair, plopping himself down and experimenting with the notes of the song. In the meantime Maze went to the bar and ordered an ale, letting his keen ears seek out anyone speaking of recent troubles.

Finally, through all the drudgery and complaints of daily life, one conversation caught his attention. A woman who was trying to convince a man to loan her money, claiming it was a ransom for her young daughter. Maze's lips donned a half smile and he put a coin on the bar, then made his way to the worried mother.


	5. Chapter 4: Rescued in the Rain

Chapter 4

"Annise has always loved picking wildflowers from the roads just outside Bowerstone, she gets up before and gathers them, then brings them back here, the house… always smells of a meadow."

Her mother, Nell, sniffed and dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. Maze sat across from her in her modest home just down the street from the market.

"I thank the heavens you're here, I wanted to ask Sparrow to help but she hasn't been seen in these parts for months."

Maze sighed inwardly, without the Guild to collect requests for help things like this were bound to happen. That and Sparrow herself must be stretched very thin.

"When did you know something was wrong?" he asked, lowly, softly.

"When I woke up and there were no fresh flowers. I got worried and headed straight out to see if she'd been held up on the roads. When I got there…" she paused, her breathes coming in gasps as she remembered, "There was a bandit," her voice became little more than a squeak as she spoke through her tears, "He said they had my daughter, and that if I didn't pay them two thousand gold by sun up tomorrow she'd make a sweet little play thing."

Maze placed a hand on hers.

"You needn't worry, I'll get her back, none of them will lay so much as a finger on her."

Nell stared at him with eyes as big as a doe's, he found it endearing even though they were badly bloodshot from her tears. He patted her shoulder as he stood, and said farewell. He moved through the streets of Bowerstone at a clip, not wanting to waste time as the sun was already setting. He made it to the road Nell spoke of and jogged down it, looking for the first set of bandits. The smell of unwashed men led him to a very well placed lookout on top of a hill.

"Who goes there?" yelled the one on guard. He was answered by a lightning bolt directly to the head. His cronies turned in time to see his body slump over. They stared into the night, seeing nothing but hearing a single set of footsteps coming towards them. The footsteps stopped before they could get a good look at who they belonged too Maze stopped and stomped his staff on the ground. Balls of dark energy sprang from the top of his staff and landed directly on the men, knocking them to the ground killing a few of them outright. Maze finished off the rest quickly, then moved on to the gate to their camp.

As he approached a heavy rain came down, turning the dusty roads to slick mud. He moved over to the grass to hid his steps and peered through rain, making out two guards at the gate. He dispensed with magic for the sake of stealth, charging them and impaling them in his rapier. He wished he had a bow but apparently bows weren't made anymore. Another thing he'd have to make.

Maze stole the key from one of them and opened the look, cracking the gate just enough from him to slip through. Rain pelted him and his clothes her already soaked, his thin shirt nearly transparent over his skin. The glowing will lines were clearly visible, twining over his chest, he suppressed his mana to make them dim but nothing could extinguish them completely. Maze slipped around most of the camp avoiding the large groups and taking out stragglers and small gaggles. Once or twice he came close to being spotted by the majority but managed to duck out of sight in time.

Finally slipped through a hole in the fence of the elite camp and came upon a large cage, in which lay a very scared, cold and wet little girl.

"Annise." He whispered, voice a little louder to be heard over the rain.

"Annise." She still didn't hear him, she clutched her knees and kept her big eyes trained on the group of men gathered about a fire. Maze tapped the bars lightly and her eyes snapped to him, filled with fear.

"Be calm," he cooed, "Your mother sent me, she's worried, she misses the flowers you picked for her every morning."

Tears welled up in Annise's eyes.

"I want my mummy!"

Maze pressed a finger to his lips and glanced over at the men. They'd heard her cry but for now thought nothing of it.

"I'll take you to her, but you must be strong, I need your help."

"Why?" her voice was still loud and the bandits were beginning to get annoyed. Maze shushed again.

"Speak softly else they will get angry. You understand?"

Annise nodded and wiped tears and rainwater from her face.

"Have you seen who holds the key to your cage?" he asked.

The girl hid her head for a moment, then pointed to the group of men.

"The one with red flags on his back." She whispered.

Maze nodded to her and ducked behind some lean-tos, the snoring of the occupants hiding his movements. A small scowl grew on his face as he saw that nearly everyone of them wore flags from the weapons on their backs, most had red markings on them. Then one caught his eye, a burly man with a myriad of scars and red flags with black marks. They denoted him as one of the most powerful fighters. Maze smirked; he just loved proving how little defense even the greatest warrior had against magic.

He tightened his grip on his staff and raised his hand, he whistled, drawing the attention of the bandit. The man turned and looked Maze in the eye just before the mage loose a lightning bolt on him. The bolt leapt through the air, grabbing droplets of water and zigzagging towards its target. It hit the man squarely in the chest, making him fly into the air and over the fire all the while his body twitching and sparking. The bandit hit the ground dead, his flags snapped off and were quickly covered in mud as all the other bandits ran with their tails between their legs, trampling his body underfoot.

Maze straightened up and walked calmly to the mangled corpse, snatched the copper keys from his belt, and opened the cage little Annise was in. With a huge smile on her face she reached for him and he lifted her up, his tiny hands curiously tracing the Will lines beneath his wet shirt.

Maze summoned his mana reserve and teleported them back to Bowerstone. They appeared in the abandoned Market, and he made his way to Nell's house with Annise still in his arms.

Nell slept that night in the same way a frightened bird sleeps, its less sleep and more a daze. Suddenly a great banging at her door jolted her and she went over to it, half afraid it was a bandit come to throw her daughter's corpse at her feet. Instead she saw a tall, white haired man silhouetted in the rainy night with blue lines running over his body, and a small, quivering child in his arms.

"Mummy?"

"Annise!"

The young girl leapt from Maze's arms and into her mother's, both of them crying for joy. Maze closed the door behind him and shook off some water.

"Thank you!" Nell grabbed his hand, "Thank you! Thank you! I can never thank you enough!"

Maze smiled and patted her hand, water from his sleeve running onto her skin.

"Oh! You're both soaked to the bone!" she rushed over to a large chair and threw a blanket around her daughter.

"Please get something to dry yourself off with, I'm going to draw a bath for Annise so she doesn't catch cold! I beg you, stay here tonight."

"There is not much night left lady," he said.

"But there's plenty of rain left, please."

"I'm as wet as I can get."

"I have to do something to repay you!"

Maze sighed. He did need to dry off. These boots were soaked and he could practically feel the fungus growing, that and he didn't exactly like having his chest on full display. He helped Nell draw a warm bath for Annise, using his magic to get the water hot quicker. Annise watched him with fascination as he worked his spells. Nell provided him with some fresh clothes and a few clothes for drying and loaned him her bedroom, saying she would sleep with Annise that night.

He understood that, after having come so close to loosing her only child. Maze peeled off his wet clothes, squeezed the water out into a bucket and hung them over a couple of chairs. He dried his skin and hair with the clothes, sat down on the bed and began rubbing his muscles. He'd found back in the Age of Heroes that massaging his limbs every night helped keep them limber and cut down on aches and pains.

Once he was done he settled back on the bed, only pulling the cover over his legs, making sure to put his sword on one side of the bed and his staff on the other. Another old habit from the days when Jack loomed over him. He fell into a dreamless sleep, woken by the light of the sun hitting his face. He got out of the bed and went to the window, leaning on the frame and taking in the sight of Bowerstone in the morning. He couldn't decide if he liked it or not, the golden light spilling over the thousands of dirty roof and walls packed together. Old Bowerstone was a nice sight in the morning, but this…not quite.

Suddenly he saw movement in the window of a house next door. A teenaged girl had been going about his morning chores apparently, and was washing windows when she spotted the naked Maze through the window. The girl's expression was caught between shock and glee, and Maze's hand shot down to cover himself and he stepped away from the window towards his now dry clothes.

_Fine, no more sleeping in the nude with buildings so close together._

He dressed quickly and left the room with sword at his hip and staff in hand. Before he left he poked his head into the room mother and daughter shared. Nell was fast asleep with little Annise in her arms, Maze smiled to himself and tip toed down the creaking stairs and slipped out the door. He was a little disappointed to get no money from the quest but he was confident that Nell would spread the word of his accomplishment all over Bowerstone, and bring in paying clients.

In the mean time he headed back towards the bandit camp to see what little treasures he may have missed the night before.


	6. Chapter 5: New Coins, Ancient Greetings

Chapter 5

Most of the bandits had abandoned the camp by the time he arrived. He rooted around and found some sealed chests, filled with various potions, items of clothing, a few low grade weapons and about 1,000 gold all told. Add to that the extra potions, food stuffs, alcohol and 500 gold he found on corpses. Maze was quite pleased with his takings and teleported back into Bowerstone. The shops were just beginning to open up when he appeared, he heard a woman yell and her heeled feet clack down the street. Apparently even teleporting frightened people, Maze heaved a sigh and headed off to find a men's shop, musing on how teleporting and even divine fury spells used to not even make an Albian bat an eye, unless they were the target of an errant spell.

Maze found the men's clothing store on a street just behind the blacksmith's shop. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the name Pants written on the sign. Not the most imaginative bunch, this generation. The bell jingled merrily as he stepped in and he was greeted warmly by the proprietor.

"Good day sir! How may I help you?"

"I need something simple and practical, and not only that, something that can take a beating, literally."

"Looking to join the guards perhaps? I supply their uniforms?" the man's smile was rather unnerving. He looked a little too excited. Maze shook his head.

"No, I'm a Hero sir, magic user mostly I,"

"Oh good sir," the man chortled and Maze frowned at being interrupted, "There's no such thing as magic."

Maze's blood boiled a bit but he kept his anger reined.

"Nevertheless, I need good sturdy protective clothing, preferably a leather vest and a long cloth robe. Mail is even better than leather."

The shopkeeper frowned when he heard 'mail'.

"I'm a humble tailor sir, and I doubt even the blacksmith could make you mail armor, such things have long since fallen out of fashion."

"And Heroes are more vulnerable for it." Maze muttered.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Maze waved his hand dismissively.

"Never mind, if you don't have what I need now, can you get it made?"

"Certainly! It'd take some time, and some gold, but it can be done."

"Fine, how much would it cost?" asked Maze.

"Difficult to say, its armor you want and I'm a tailor, perhaps you could give me a better idea of how to make it."

Maze rolled his eyes but obliged the man, giving him pointers in how to design and assemble something that was once common knowledge to even the youngest apprentice clothier. Maze designed a close fitting hardened leather vest to protect his torso and a large, swaying black and gold robe to hide his outline.

"Magnificent sir." Said the tailor with awe.

"I'm sure. Now, how much will this cost to make?"

"The robe will require a lot of material and work with the gold embroidery, and I'll have to have the vest made in Oakfield. I'd say it'd take 12 at least, and cost around 5,000 gold to do."

Maze gulped. The man spotted his reaction.

"But for now a payment of 1000 will suffice. It'd be enough to get started, and I'll throw in a few extra things as well, just for you."

It was as good a deal as he was going to get and Maze slowly handed over the requested amount. The tailor gave him a pair of soft leather gloves along with a small, tight dark blue vest and a thin but long coat. Maze felt a little better with more layers over him but the issue of making the four other payments gnawed at him as he stepped back out into the street.

He made for the Cow & Corset again, hoping to hear of another person in need. He luck there had run out, Sparrow's exploits had helped most everyone in Bowerstone and scared most unsavory characters out of major crime. Maze found it hard to believe one little Hero could make life so difficult for another, until he remembered the slump Thunder hit after the Hero of Oakvale won at the Arena and then beat him for Lady Grey's hand. As he sat moping the minstrel came up to him.

"Pardon me sir, but I've been trying to practice that tune like you said and I just don't have it yet."

Maze adjusted himself and looked at the man, and decided to help him.

"Fine, let me hear."

The bard barely had a grasp on the tune, it sounded horribly butchered.

"Have you tried to put your own spin on the melody?" Maze said, fighting a wince.

"Yes, a little. People around here request lively music mostly and I thought I could bring some modern flair into it." He said with a big grin.

"Well, you're ruining the song."

The bard's smile dropped like a dead fly. Maze gestured around them.

"Have you not noticed how everyone moves away form you when you try to play it? Music is as much about playing for your audience as for yourself. This melody was written hundreds of years ago to put into music the feeling of peace and contentment pilgrims felt when they entered the Temple of Avo. It has to played with that feeling in your thoughts."

The minstrel shook his head.

"I've never been to a temple sir."

"Have you ever been somewhere that made you feel a permeating sense of peace? Have you ever felt that all was right with the world, and you needn't worry about a thing?"

The bard lifted his head and closed his eyes, searching his memory. Slowly a small smile came to his face.

"A very long time ago." He said in a low voice.

"Hang on to that memory," Maze took the lute from his hands, "and listen."

Once again the rapturous song flowed from the strings and all turned their heads to watch Maze as he played. The minstrel kept his eyes locked on Maze's hands, memorizing the note he struck, swaying a little with the slow beat.

When Maze finished he handed the instrument back to the minstrel and he proceeded to play the song nearly perfectly, only hitting a few slightly sour notes. He tried again and by the third time it was perfect, the soothing music making the dirty little tavern feel like a haven. The bard got up and kept playing, walking around the tables letting his notes echo through the building.

Maze turned back to his mug of cider and nursed it, letting his mind drift off. He wished he could go back to the Guild and delve into the endless library, he once found such peace buried in those tomes, book after book after book of spells that hadn't been practiced since the fall of the Old Kingdom. He could almost feel the vellum and parchment between his fingers, smell the leather and ink, and see the ancient languages on the page.

Suddenly a great hand came down on his shoulder. Maze's Will flared and his Will lines crackled menacingly.

"Easy there, I'm just here to deliver a message."

Maze turned to see a man in a guard's uniform.

"What message would that be?" he said, anger still in his voice.

"A friend of mine wants a word with you, apparently your good at retrieving stolen goods and he has some stolen goods he wants un-stolen."

Again Maze tried not to roll his eyes.

"And how much does this friend of yours pay?" he asked.

"Oh, very well sir. Now if you please, follow me."

Maze left his mug unfinished and another precious coin next to it, and followed the burly guard out of the tavern. He was led to a well appointed house in Olde Town, and as he saw the glittering windows and velvet drapes he smiled. Here was the job he was needing. Maze entered and found a short, round faced and round bellied man standing by the fire place. He wore the finest clothes and one of those horrible powered wigs. As he heard Maze's footsteps over the wooden floor he turned to look at the wizard, having to crane his neck to even look Maze in the eye.

"Ah, you're here, very good."

The man snapped a pocket watch in his fat hand shut and slipped it back into his waistcoat.

"Please have a seat."

Maze sat at the long table near the fire and the man threw himself into a plump bat winged chair at the end.

"I am Sir Richard Umbridge, and I am very glad to see you."

"What would you have me do for you?" said Maze with an air of nonchalance.

"I would have you retrieve for me what is rightfully mine." Sir Richard was a little annoyed with Maze's attitude, "I have spent the last five years bettering not only myself but the whole of Olde Town, always putting the needs of this neighborhood before my own. Now I find myself taken for a fool by a money grubbing snake oil salesman."

Maze smiled.

"Who was it that conned you?"

Sir Richard's frown deepened.

"A man that calls himself Barney Banks. He claimed to have invented a machine that would do the work of five factory workers by itself. I agreed to pay to have his first mill built, and as soon as I gave him the money to build it here in Bowerstone he ran off to Oakfield, and from what I here he's living quite well on my coin."

Maze nodded.

"Fine, I'll go to Oakfield and shake your gold out of him." He began to get up.

"Its not just my gold," said Sir Richard, "That sum was to be given to whatever enterprising inventor gave me the most promising idea with the goal of bettering Bowerstone further. He didn't just steal money, he stole a future."

Maze couldn't decide what to make of this man.

"How much are you willing to pay me for this?"

Sir Richard grimaced, then sighed.

"1500, with a bonus if you get it in the next couple of days, and a little more if you get at least 4000 of the original 5 back."

"Sounds very reasonable." Said Maze, "I'll be back soon."

Maze took his leave and stepped into the street, then summoned his magic and tried to teleport to the old Oakvale Cullis Gate. He growled when he realized it was either inactive or destroyed. He tried the Barrow Fields one, it was active. He teleported there and found himself standing amidst a field of soft, golden wheat rolling in the wind. A sad little smile appeared on his lips, as he walked through the fields to town he remembered being a young boy, walking home. He banished the memory before it brought images of burning houses and seared flesh to his mind's eye. Within half an hour he entered the town of Oakfield, and found that unlike Bowerstone it had many similarities to its predecessor Oakvale. It was a quite, prosperous, fertile farming town with friendly citizens.

Maze sought out the Cullis Gate, and sighed with relief when he found it intact hidden deep in the weeds behind a house. He stood in the center of it and put the butt of his staff down right in the middle, channeling magic into it to reactivate it. Once it was working again he made the weeds around it grow thicker to hide it, just incase some sacred idiot got the spotted it and tried to destroy it.

With the Cullis Gate fixed he went off to find the tavern, surely Banks would be there. The bar wasn't hard to find, the raucous music and drunken laughter could be heard all over town.

"He's here alright." Maze muttered.

Maze entered the building and only needed ask one person, who promptly pointed out his target. Indeed Banks was the loudest, most drunk, most lecherous one around whom all gathered for the hope of a pint on his coin, Umbridge's coin. Maze lured him outside by saying that he had some gold to deliver to him, and waited patiently as Banks stumbled out for his 'reward', which turned out to be a burned bottom, two black eyes, some cracked ribs, a few electrical shocks, several chipped teeth, and a knee to the crotch to finish. Banks gave him the money around the singed pubic hair but Maze felt like driving the point home, and taking out some aggression. Only about 500 was missing from the original sum, and maze was surely to get a hefty bonus.

He strolled out of town with a grin on his face, then stopped short when he saw something very odd standing behind a fence. Was it a scarecrow? It wasn't, it wasn't a man either. He took a few steps closer and realized it was a Hobbe, balancing precariously on false legs, trying to pass as a human. Maze walked right up to it and the Hobbe kept perfectly still, still thinking its disguise passed.

"This is new for your kind." Maze said.

He then punched the Hobbe square in the face, sending it tumbling off its spindly legs and onto its back. He drew his sword and before it could even get onto its won pudgy legs, impaled it. As he pulled his sword out of it he heard some more of then coming up on him. He slammed his staff down and released Force Push, blasting them back again and killing several. The last few he finished off with half hearted lightning bolts. He didn't even bother with the bodies and simply teleported himself back to Bowerstone.

Umbridge was sitting at his table, picking at his dinner when there was a knock on the door.

"Its open!"

Maze stepped inside and before Sir Richard could say a word he tossed the coin purse to him. His little hands missed the bag but it landed in his lap, and he quickly opened it and ran the small metal pieces through his hand.

"How…how could you get this…so quickly?"

"I have my ways, now I believe you owe me a fee."

Sir Richard nodded and counted out nearly 2000 gold.

"But a moment." He said, sliding off his chair and waddling over to an armoire. He pulled a large, exquisite necklace from one of the drawers and placed it on top of the heap of coins.

"For your supreme speed." He said with awe.

"Thank you." Maze pulled the coins and necklace across the table and into his own purse, "do tell anyone else that I'm more than willing to help with any dire troubles." He said, tossing the last coin in the air before pocketing it.

"Of course." Sir Richard grinned.

Night was falling and Maze felt much better as he stepped outside. He'd be able to haggle quite a price for that necklace, his new armor and robes were practically paid for. Maze was not one to sleep often after being under Jack's yoke for so long so he decided to wander Bowerstone till morning, getting reacquainted with the city.

As he moved down an alley most people scurried out of his way, except one man. He was taller than most but still shorter than Maze, with bluish white hair in tight corn braids and a goatee on his chin. A large monocle flashed in the moonlight and a myriad of scrolls and tomes hung form the many belts stretched over his blue clothes. But then thing Maze noticed first were the thin blue lines twining over his face and surely the rest of him. This man was a mage.

Maze came to a stop and sized the man up, his won magic flaring a touch. He decided to address the man in Old Kingdom speak; see how knowledgeable he really was.

"_Ho! Stranger! What brings you to block my path?"_

The words flowed off his tongue with ease.

"_I seek not to block your path, greater one. I wish to join you on it, please allow me the honor to learn the grace of Will with you."_

Maze raised an eyebrow. The man's Old Kingdom speak was not as fluid as his but he had just used a very specific request, one that only mages used when asking favors. Maze dampened his magic, showing him that he no longer considered him and immediate threat, and the mage followed suit. This man took a few steps closer, bowed, and continued on Old Kingdom speak.

"_Maze, I am glad to have found you at last. You have already done much good and many speak of you. I have quarters in Brightwood Tower, and I ask humbly that you come there with me to study, and to gain strength."_

"_Strength for what, lesser one?"_ Maze meant no insult by that, he was rather obliged to call this man that since he had addressed Maze as 'greater one'.

"_The strength to topple a tower, and bring an end to a mad man."_


	7. Chapter 6: Of Mages and Girls

Chapter 6

"Lord Lucien Fairfax is trying to rebuild the Tattered Spire?" Maze's voice dripped with dubious tones. "Why?"

"Originally, I believe it was to bring his wife and daughter back to life," said Garth, his fellow wizard, "but he's since strayed from that goal. Now he sees the whole of Albion as corrupt, and needing to be cleansed."

Maze chuckled.

"Hardly a new revelation, even the Old Kingdom saw corruption, massacre and fear. A perfect, peaceful Albion has not existed since before the Court of Blades arrived." Maze's expression changed momentarily as he mentioned the Court of Blades, like he had suddenly tasted something bitter. He turned away from Garth and walked to the nearby window, looking out over the canopy of Brightwood.

"Forgive me, but I have a hard time getting overly worried about this after having lived under the thumb of Jack of Blades."

"I know how you lived," said Garth, "and I understand you that you see little threat in Lucien compared to those you fought, but I assure, coupled with the Spire his threat is very real. What do you know of the Spire?"

Maze snorted.

"What doesn't an Albian mage know about it? The final Archon built it as the nexus for all the Will in the kingdom, powerful enough to grant a single wish, and wish to the user. Almost the instant it was built it exploded taking the Old Kingdom down with it. The Spire has been synonymous with ruin since then."

There was a long pause between them as Maze kept staring out the window and Garth waited for him to make his decision, more than a little worried he was either too confused by resurrection or too jaded by near slavery to want to help. Finally Maze turned around.

"How could he possibly build it and expect it to operate? We barely had the ability to perform Old Kingdom magic in my time."

"It'll work because I helped him." Said Garth, the regret in his voice nearly tangible, "I'm the foremost Old Kingdom scholar of my time, and I figured out every nuance of the Spire's design from its ruins, every ancient trick used to draw Will energy into the stones."

"And now you're looking to clean up your mess." Maze said with a sigh. "If he was so disturbed, what on earth lead you to assist him?"

"His madness was not so obvious at first, and even then my interest in this was purely academic."

Maze snorted again, his lips twisting into a wry grin.

"Sounds like something I'd do, hell any curious mage would do."

He turned back to the window.

"I always hated that expression." He mused.

"What expression?" asked Garth.

"Curiosity killed the cat, I love cats, and it sounds like something you tell a small child to keep them from snooping around your bedroom when you're trying to have a little fun at night."

Maze licked his lips, that little joke brought back a few memories of tangled sheets and bodies.

"You still haven't answered my question." Garth's voice was even but he was starting to get annoyed. Maze was turning out to be one of those men who dodged concrete answers at every turn.

"I don't know how much use I'll be." Said Maze, "I've been dead 500 years, alive again for the last week and only beginning to get a handle on all this." He threw his hands in the air, gesturing to everything and nothing.

"I need more time."

"To do what?"

Maze turned back to him.

"To become a Hero again. I won't be very useful if I'm still fighting like some corpse on strings."

"I've seen you fight, you're hardly a stiff old man." Said Garth. Maze raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And when did you see this?"

"Those bandits who kidnapped the little girl, I heard of it and figured you'd try to save her. I thought you'd need help, I was very wrong."

Maze stiffened a bit. Part of him suspected Garth setting that entire thing up to test him but he said nothing.

"I don't appreciate being spied on." he said through partly clenched teeth.

Garth sensed he was quickly losing repiore and tried to plug the dam by offering information.

"Do you want a full apology and explanation?"

Maze narrowed his eyes, but shook his head.

"For now no, but don't think I'm some puppet, I may have been in a previous life but I know who I can defeat and who I can't. You and every other person I've encountered or heard of so far are in the first category."

"Point taken," said Garth, conceding to him to keep him open to joining his cause. "Shall we make a deal then? You say you need time, but time is in short supply. The Spire rises higher everyday and more lives are lost for every stone that is set. If I give you say a month or two at most to travel Albion and 'get your touch back' will you join me?"

Maze sighed, still not wanting to be drawn into yet another epic struggle for the fate of Albion. It was tiresome at best and life threatening at worst, and he found himself quite unwilling to visit the grave for a second time.

"Very well, I see little choice and I owe you quite a lot for bringing me back."

Garth loosened his hands and his Will dropped noticeably.

"I am pleased to here it. Please feel free to stay here as long as you require, I have collected many tomes on the magical arts and history and you are quite the scholar, I know."

Maze was sorely tempted but shook his head.

"Not tonight, but some other time." He picked up his staff and headed to the door, but stopped for a moment.

"Garth, who was the man that sacrificed himself for me?"

Garth had begun to sift through the papers on his desk, and paused when Maze mentioned the man. He ran his thumb over the thick paper.

"He worked for me. He loved this land like no other and he knew of history, I let him read my books on the subject. He thought the Guild should have gone through another upheaval like the one you and Weaver led, rather than be destroyed. He knew that Albion still needs Heroes, he offered to be the sacrifice of his own will, and brow beat me into doing the ritual."

"Has he any family?" Maze felt a few pangs of guilt once again, now that he could connect that lifeless body with a real person.

"None, parents died when he was a young man, his wife passed long ago, he never had any children or siblings."

"Then there was no one to mourn him." Maze closed his eyes for a moment, half tempted to whisper a prayer to Avo.

"No one but us." Said Garth, "I think we should make sure his sacrifice, quite a literal one at that, was not in vain."

"It wasn't." said Maze, and before Garth could say anything more he stepped through the door. Maze quickly moved down the steppes and headed into the courtyard Cullis Gate, wanting to escape this tower and the memories it held of the man whose life had bought his. He reappeared on the outskirts of Bowerstone and walked briskly towards the city. As he walked he felt metal brush against his skin. That dagger he'd taken off the dead man was tucked into the band of his breeches, he'd thought nothing of it but now he felt grow heavier with every step.

Finally he took it out and stared at it in the moonlight, the blood rubies seeming like leering eyes. For a moment he made to throw it into the nearby pond, winding back his arm, but instead of releasing it his fingers kept a tight grip. He wasn't sure why but he couldn't bear to part with it yet. He growled and tucked the dagger away again, stomping back into Bowerstone.

Maze was always a light sleeper, he'd grown up in a part of Albion infested with Balverines, and it was never good for any Hero to sleep too deeply or they really would sleep like the dead. He sat on a small bench on Olde Town and let himself drift off for awhile in the early morning, his eyes opening occasionally to see the sky change from a deep, dark blue to progressively lighter shades till streaks of orange and red could be seen from the east.

The twilight mists began to clear and he heard the sounds of households beginning a new day of hustle and bustle. Maze grunted as he stood, his muscles feeling stiff after trying to sleep on a hard wooden bench. They loosened out as he walked but he still felt less than rested. The tailor he'd spoken too the other day was just opening shop when he arrived, and he gladly accepted Maze's new 1000 gold payment.

"I trust that my items will be ready quite soon?"

"But a few more days, and yes." the tailor's grin was as glued to his face as ever. Maze left the man there and found himself wandering aimlessly down the cobbled streets. He mused on the Guild's quest card system yet again, that old idea of Scythe's was an excellent one it kept Heroes busy, got their names out there, and allowed anyone to ask for the Guild's help. Just wandering on his own wasn't a good thing. He stopped, tapped his staff on the stones a few times, then summoned his mana and teleported to the old Cullis Gate in Greatwood.

He found himself standing knee deep in bramble weeds that had long since grown over the gate. As he picked his way to a road he was very glad of those thigh high boots Theresa had given him, though less thankful for the cheap coat he'd paid good money for. By the time he'd untangled himself from the bushes the hem had several tears. It'd hardly last him till he got his new one.

He made his way down the winding forest road more in the past than the present. He heard the movements of Hobbes and bandits alike in the undergrowth but none of them had the gall to confront him, and the part of his mind still surveying his surrounds was quickly losing interest. Then something, large, furry, and fast dove out of the bushes and blocked his path. Maze stopped and smirked.

He could always count on Balverines to be aggressive and stupid enough to challenge any Hero. Maze cast his spell of Physical Shield and knocked the Balverine back with his staff. He'd been relying on swords and spells of late and wanted to be sure he was still an adept staff fighter. He spun the weapon around his body, moving more like a dancer than a fighter as he dodged the monster's lunges and used the chance to get devastating blows in while its back was turned.

Pretty soon though the Balverine got tired being socked in the snout with a wooden staff and began throwing all of its considerable weight and speed into the fight. Maze soon found himself struggling to just keep those claws and teeth at bay. He stopped denying the urge to use spells and through the creature back with a Force Push and drew his sword, ready to land a final blow. The Balverine wasn't as woozy as he thought and swiped the rapier out of his hand. With great difficulty Maze shifted his momentum and dove out of the way of the massive claws only fin himself knocked on his back with the creature bearing down on him.

The monster roared in his face sending bloodied spittle all over him, and raised its claws over his throat. The Balverine's roar stopped suddenly and more blood flowed out of its mouth and onto Maze, and its hand fell limp to the ground. Maze kicked it off of his and pulled the dagger out of its chest, wiping it clean on the grass and tucking it back into his clothes. He retrieved his rapier and sheathed it again taking a few more steps down the road when someone appeared just ahead. Maze saw it was a woman, very young perhaps 19 or 20 years of age, wearing high blue boots, tiny shorts, a long and fancy blue coat and thin cotton shirt, a leather mask and carrying a sword and rifle on her back. Any other person might have thought 'well armed traveling prostitute' but Maze knew that 'Hero' was the correct term. He stopped and let her approach him, her piercing green eyes roamed over him and the dead Balverine behind him. She stopped and placed a hand on her hip and kept looking from the corpse to him, and finally opened her mouth.

"Not bad, not bad at all." She smiled at him, her slightly flirty expression obvious even from behind the mask. "Any man who can kill a Balverine single handed is quite an impressive one."

"Thank you," said Maze, "But forgive me, I do not know your name."

"The name is Sparrow," she extended a hand.

Maze shook it but couldn't help feeling a little odd. This rather ordinary girl was the Hero of age, descended from Theresa's precious brother. That man had exuded power even when young, she didn't quite match up to her ancestor's charisma yet.

"I have heard of you," he said, "but I confess I was expecting…"

"This?" she continued to smile, like she was very much used to hearing that.

"But who are you?" she asked, putting a hand to her chin.

"Maze." He said simply.

"Maze? That's either a very bad given name or a very interesting Hero one."

"It'd be the later."

"Oh good." Her face lit up, "I happen to be looking for Heroes now."

"Oh do let me guess, because you want to stop Lucien Fairfax from rebuilding the Tattered Spire." Said Maze.

"Yes…" her smile began to fade, "Who told you?"

"A man named Garth." Other words were on the tip of his tongue but he bit them back.

"I'll tell you what I told him, I'll join the cause but not yet, I need time to re-hone my skills."

"Pardon?" Sparrow raised an eyebrow, "Re-hone, what does that mean?"

Maze's eyes flitted away for an instant. He wasn't sure if he should tell anyone about his resurrection.

"I've been, retired, for awhile."

"Retired," Sparrow sounded dubious, "if that's so then how come I've never heard of you?"

"I've been retired a very long time." Maze stared her down. Until he was sure he could trust her has wasn't budging an inch on this story. Sparrow returned his stare but luckily for him she wasn't overly patient. Finally she threw her hands up in defeat.

"Fine, whatever you want. What do you plan to do before you help us?"

"Albion has people in dire straights, I make things less dire." With that he stepped past her. Sparrow however had no trouble keeping pace with him, and remained right beside him no matter how fast he walked.

"What do you want?" he grumbled.

"If that's what you want to do," she was nearly jogging has she spoke, her strides were less than half his, "then you better stick by me. There's not much saving to be done after I've swept through town, and I could use the support."

Maze growled and quickened his pace, veering off the road hoping she'd trip over a root or fallen branch. Sparrow was as nimble as a doe and avoided any hazards with ease while he tromped through the undergrowth.

"Leave me be, I've never partnered with any Hero and don't intend to let you hang around me day and night." He said.

"Why not, you've only just met me?" her playful smile was back and for some reason it infuriated him.

"Because you're already annoying me to no end."

"Well good!" with that she jumped in front of him and forced him to stop.

"The more annoyed you get now the quicker you'll get used to me."

Maze snorted and pushed her aside.

"The more annoyed I get, the more I want to leave, and speaking of which…"

He teleported once again, leaving Sparrow to grin at thin air. He appeared on a Cullis Gate above Bower lake, and breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps his irritation with the Hero of Oakvale had carried over to the man's descendent. He took a moment to calm himself and rubbed his temples as he started down the lake path.

Suddenly he felt a rush of displaced air and groaned. Sparrow leapt down the hill and he heard exuberant barking. He hadn't really noticed before but a golden lab was following her. The dog ran up to him, put its paws on his stomach and then shoved its nose between his legs. Maze grunted and pried the dog's head away.

"Tasha! Get 'im!"

Sparrow came into sight and Tasha ran to her, putting paws on her shoulders and licking her face. Maze used the opportunity to get away but Sparrow and Tasha were quick on his heels. Finally Sparrow jumped onto his back and sent both of them tumbling down the hill, finally stopping at the bottom covered in grass and dirt. Maze was face down in the long weeds and Sparrow was still clinging to his back, laughing at the top of her lungs with Tasha bearing down on them.

"Your fun!" Sparrow hugged him and stayed on top of him, and Maze made a sound like a low gurgle and wondered how he'd sunk so far into humiliation so fast. He grunted as Tasha stopped, spraying dirt over him and tried to sniff his face. He shielded his face behind his arms but felt Sparrow sneak her finger under his coat to tickle him. Maze yelled as she did and tried to fight off both the Hero and her dog and couldn't to either. Finally his rage boiled over and he reared up, Sparrow was unable to hang on and was tossed off his back. Maze gave the uppity lab a burning stare and yelled,

"DOWN!"

Tasha's tail disappeared between her legs and she whined, cowering in the long grass. Sparrow shook her head and got up, and was met with a condemning stare from Maze. Under those bright sapphire orbs Sparrow suddenly felt like she was a child again, one in very deep trouble.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice much softer, "I got carried away."

Maze continued to stare her down them sighed and closed his eyes, waved a hand dismissively and picked up his staff, relieved it hadn't snapped. He started off again hoping she wouldn't follow this time, his hopes were dashed when he heard Tasha's barking close behind. Sparrow ran up to him, and of all things, pecked his cheek. Maze stopped dead and stared, dumbfounded as she jogged backwards and grinned at him.

"I'm going this way too." She said, then ran off giggling. Maze rolled his eyes and touched the place were her lips had met with his rough, unshaven cheek.


	8. Chapter 7: Sword, Sparrow

Chapter 7

Maze was thankful his mind separated from the outside world so easily. It made Sparrow's constant rambling easier to bear. While she pattered on about this and that and so much nonsense he mentally recited ancient tomes and recalled his knowledge of spells, and searched his memory for a barrier spell that could move with the caster. Maybe that could be a new project.

Sparrow poked him the side again, he grunted and rubbed it sure that little area would soon bruise from all the poking.

"Please stop that."

"Then pay attention! I hate being ignored." Sparrow crossed her arms as she walked. Maze felt one leg be knocked slightly off balance as Tasha rubbed against it, whining for attention.

"If you pet her for once she'll leave you be." Said Sparrow.

"Yes, for two minutes then she'll run right back." Maze wrinkled his nose as Tasha stayed glued to his leg. "I don't like dogs."

"Why not?"

"Too, slave like, too savage and wild. They remind me of servants and Balverines all at once."

Sparrow quirked an eyebrow at him but didn't press any further. There was a long moment of sweet silence but inevitably she piped up again.

"I'm heading to Bloodstone, wanna go with?"

Maze rolled his eyes and didn't reply.

"Been to Bloodstone?"

"No." he answered honestly.

"Neither have I, but I couldn't stay away forever. Bad place, people barely get by and there is no law what so ever."

"How delightful." Maze's voice oozed sarcasm.

"But with two of us it'd be easier to handle."

"One question," he said, "are you going to give me a moment's peace unless I agree to accompany you?"

"Nope!" she said cheerfully.

He groaned and dipped his head, rubbing his eyes.

"Is that a yes?"

He nodded, and as she began to squeal with glee he pressed a finger to her lips.

"But please, a little quiet time, please."

Sparrow heaved a sigh but obliged him. Maze felt the small headache that had been creeping up on him begin to decrease. The normal sounds of the forest soothed him a great deal and his normal equilibrium returned.

"Is this the deal?" Sparrow said suddenly.

"What?"

"You come with me but I have to be quiet while we're traveling?"

He'd hadn't thought of it that way but it was a very good idea.

"Yes, yes that's the deal."

She sighed again.

"I hate that. I like talking to people."

"You were talking at me, not to me." He bit back crueler words.

"Its not my fault you're tighter lipped than a clam."

He said nothing and let his mind wander again. After about an hour's worth of silence he spoke.

"Where is Bloodstone situated?"

Sparrow gave him an odd look but answered.

"Near Wraithmarsh, by the ruins of some town called…Oakvale I think."

Maze stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oakvale?" he said in a low voice.

"Yes, I think so." Sparrow put a hand on his shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Maze straightened up and relaxed his body, trying to seem his normal self. He began walking again and his mind started to sift through this new information.

_I thought Oakfield was the new incarnation of Oakvale, they looked so similar I was fooled. Where did I teleport too? _

He closed his eyes a moment and surveyed the Will lines running through the ground all over Albion. Cullis Gates were built on strong points in the lines or intersections, and by following the paths Maze could pinpoint just about any location. The Cullis Gate he had reactivated in the town he took for Oakvale sat in a region that was once the north most reaches of an uninhabited forest. That Cullis Gate had fallen unused since the fall of the Old Kingdom because no one lived there.

He was glad he re-activated it but he gave himself a mental slap for being so air headed to think that was where Oakvale was. But, on the other hand, there still two Cullis Gates near the ruins of Oakvale.

_Might as well try it._

Maze stopped again and placed his staff in front of him and tried to summon his mana and teleport. One of the Gates was also unavailable but the other responded to his command.

"Sparrow, try to follow me." He said as he began to disappear into a blue light. He felt a small hand grab hold of his coat and the spell completed, bringing him and Sparrow to the real Barrow Fields Cullis Gate.

The once lush and bright fields had long since fallen fallow or become overgrown from disuse. Maze remembered this area being a popular place to kick back and perhaps fish, meet with friends and have some good times away from home. Now it was not a place you wanted to be at all, let alone by yourself.

As they walked towards the charred, moldy ruins of Oakvale Tasha began barking like mad. She ran around Sparrow a few times then began galloping off towards a patch of weeds.

"What'd you find girl?" said Sparrow as she vaulted over a fence.

Maze was quick behind and he saw the dog barking and pawing at the earth. Sparrow whipped out a shovel and began digging up the tightly packed soil. After a few shovelfuls she checked her work and grunted with frustration. She'd found a small animal bone and that was it.

"Tasha, treasure, not bones!"

The dog whined and kept pawing the ground, trying to dig deeper.

"If I may," Maze pushed past her and knelt on the patch of ground, trying to feel out any magic pulses. His eyes shot open, and his jaw dropped, there was no mistaking what he felt beneath that hard earth. He looked around a saw some granite stones scattered about, mostly covered in dirt and moss but their sharp, carved edges were obvious to his eyes.

Not a few feet beneath him the Hero of Oakvale was at his rest, his bones lying inside the great Archon's battle armor and the Tear of Avo over his chest. It was surely the sword the dog had picked up on. He felt himself being pulled towards the now unguarded sword but looked up at that pile of bone's descendent.

"Sparrow, do you know who you got your power from?"

The girl bit her lip and shook her head.

"I was an orphan sir. My sister…" she squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head but a tear snuck down, falling over her mask, "we grew up on the streets in Bowerstone."

Maze offered a hand to her and brought her down to kneel beside him. He placed her hand on the damp earth.

"Just below us is one of the greatest men Albion ever saw. He was called Sabre early on but many came to know him simply as the Hero of Oakvale. Your companion sniffed out the very weapon her used to defeat Jack of Blades, you know who that is right?"

Sparrow nodded, her eyes suddenly full of a childlike awe.

"That blade is called the Tear of Avo, he was able to wield it for one reason, he threw away the Sword of Aeons. He is your blood, Sparrow, you are all that is left of his mighty line. Your abilities, the three Hero Virtues are his gift to you."

Sparrow's eyes were as wide as they could get and she looked down towards the overgrown grave.

"How do you know this?" she asked.

Maze smiled, and tapped his nose.

"A story for another day."

He called to the magic in the blade, asking it to rise from the earth and serve a new master. The pommel slowly began to push out form under the earth and the handle soon followed, allowing Maze to grab it and pull the rest of the weapon out, it came out of the earth as easily as a hot knife through butter. Maze's smile grew as he lifted the Tear of Avo, completely unscarred by battle or time; from the ground feeling it finally sit in his hand.

He gazed at the blue flames rolling off the spilt blade, then took his battle stance a sliced through the air, performing movements tactics that had been drilled into him from childhood. The Tear of Avo moved as if it were merely part of his own arm, leaving trails of cool blue energy in its wake. Maze stopped his drilling, and slowly stood straight again, and looked at the sword once more. He felt his power was complete with the Tear of Avo in his hands, but as he looked at his reflection in the silvery metal he felt that is wasn't truly his.

He lifted his eye to Sparrow, who had rocked back on the ground and was staring at him with astoundment. He sighed and flipped the blade around, handing to her pommel first.

"It was his to begin with, and you are his heir."

Sparrow looked that the sword for awhile then pushed it towards him.

"I think this thing made it very obvious who it wants to serve. I doubt I could even lift that giant thing."

Maze furrowed his brow and turned the sword around in his hand again. The Tear of Avo was large but it was marvelously light, and someone of Sparrow's size and strength should have no trouble wielding it. He offered a hand to her again and lifted her off the dirt, she brushed herself off and readjusted the straps that held her weapons in place, and just as they were ready to get moving again Tasha began growling, the hair on her back standing straight up.

"Where are they?" said Sparrow, her voice nearly a whisper. The dog was growling towards a bunch of bushes, from which emerged some very well armed bandits. Maze could tell right of these were much more than the idiots running around the Bowerstone area, and he tightened his grip on sword and staff, charging his mana reserve. Sparrow did the same, drawing her rifle, he could see her own Will lines begin to flash.

"That's a mighty nice sword you pulled out of the ground for us mate," said one. "Didn't even know it was there, should fetch a good price."

"So should that little tart." Sneered another, "Oh I'd love to have some fun with her."

"Get that sword," commanded the tallest one, who seemed to have a few working brain cells, "shoot him as quick as you can, take her down without hurting her too much."

With a chorus of 'Yes Boss!" they charged, only to find themselves blown back by Maze's Force Push as he stepped just ahead of Sparrow.

"Pick them off!" he yelled as he unleashed several fireballs and lightening bolts from his staff.

"Right!" Sparrow's aim was uncanny and every shot she landed hit a man in either the head or the chest. Between Maze's magic and Sparrow's bullets the rouge's boss was quickly the only one standing. Unfazed by the quick loss of advantage he charged Maze, the closest of the two Heroes, only to have his weapon easily parried by Maze. Sparrow drew her sword and was soon swiping at him as well, though with her amateurish style the bandit had little trouble keeping her at bay. Maze simply kept parrying until Sparrow got in a good enough hit that the bandit had to strike harder at her, and as he turned to do so Maze leapt forward and sunk the Tear of Avo into the man's side.

The bandit boss gurgled, jerked, then slid off the blade and fell in a heap on the ground. Maze flicked the blood off the sword and carefully tucked it into his belt. Sparrow put her own blade away and turned on her heel, Tasha close behind. She left Maze to scrounge for gold, of which there was not much. He caught up with her and as they walked to Bloodstone he noticed a marked change in her demeanor. She was sullen and withdrawn, staring at her feet as she walked briskly. Maze knew he had only to wait, and sure enough within minutes she spoke.

"I didn't know I was that bad." she said.

"You simply haven't been formerly trained, it shows." Maze sighed, he was going to regret even mentioning this, "I can train you, but, oomph!"

Sparrow had thrown her arms around him and was hopping up and down excitedly.

"Sparrow, Sparrow, Sparrow!" he managed to pry her off and finish his sentence. "But keep in mind melee is not my greatest skill…"

"I know magic is!" she interrupted, beaming form ear to ear, "but the way you move is like your were born with a sword in hand, you make fighting look like art! I want to fight like that!"

"Fine," he pressed a finger to her lips again, shushing her, "fine, you will learn, but please clam down, there's much work to be done."

She nodded her head and before he could pull those fingers away pecked them. Maze wrinkled his nose but fought the urge to wipe his hand. They arrived in Bloodstone not long after, and Maze thought the name was quite apt. After walking through the ruins of Oakvale he surmised that this place was built over Twin Blade's old camp, and it honestly did not look like much more than that.

Ramshackle buildings made from junk wood with roofs off straw or tarred cloth, streets that were more paths of mud, everything and everyone showing the gritty, grimy signs of life in a lawless fringe town. Whores, male and female, of all ages and everywhere on the spectrum of attractiveness stood in the open with badly written signs advertising their offers, as if their purposes weren't obvious enough. Others milled about, walking with that downtrodden, hateful stride of anyone confined to a life such as this.

If there was any place Maze thought I town should not have sprung up it was over Twin Blade's camp. He and Sparrow made their way with many an envious, suspicious or lustful glance to the local bar.

"Best place to find work, the bar."

_I'm sure we'll find plenty._

As they lingered in the bar, one conversation in particular caught their ears. Some men were muttering about a society called The Temple of Benevolent Yokels and its leader Toby Trotter. The two drunks went on to say that they were rather annoyed with his constant pratter about cleansing the town. Sparrow and Maze waited a few minutes, paid the barkeeper and left to find this man. The houses in Bloodstone were practically interchangeable but the voices that so easily leaked out from the walls showed them to Toby's house. He was talking very loudly with someone named Sister Beverly about some gang named 'The Silver Serpent'.

Sparrow knocked on the door and it soon opened to reveal a man that honestly looked quite similar to every other in the town.

"Ah! Finally you're here!" he said, ushered them in and Sister Beverly out.

"This town is so badly in need of Heroes."

"Yes, we know." Said Sparrow, not in the least bit cynical.

"There is a terrible gang that calls itself the Silver Serpent running a muck, dragging the entire town down with it! I intend to stop them with an ancient and effective ritual."

Sparrow seemed to think him sincere but Maze could distinctly detect the stench of 'con' wafting through the room.

"I will need you to gather some artifacts for me, " said Toby, a gleeful grin growing on his face, "the Mutton of Eternal Hope, the Sacred Pie of Kindness and the Wine of Forgiveness, I will also need you to bring one of those women selling herself on the streets, by showing the error of her ways I will make the ritual complete. Will you…"

Toby's words died in his throat as he realized Maze had drawn the Tear of Avo and was slowly bringing the tip to his pulsing jugular. Maze's had donned a vicious smile and spoke very slowly and clearly.

"What kind of idiot are you to think you could so easily trick me with this dreck? The Mutton of Eternal Hope? Really? And getting a whore for you, isn't that just isn't some vinegar for a festering wound? Tell me, how many others have you made run your little errands for you?"

Toby began stuttering something out as rivers of sweat fell down his face, but Maze never gave him the chance to speak. He released an electrical charge that traveled up the Tear of Avo and arched across the air to Toby's drenched face giving him a powerful shock and burning most of the hair off his face, brow and forehead. Maze then smacked the upside of his head with the flat side of his blade and sent Toby plummeting to the floor.

"Get out of my sight!" Maze yelled.

Toby wasted no time in scrambling out of his house, whimpering and pissing himself all the way. Maze scoffed.

"Con men, all the same, all bloody cowards."

Sparrow, who had watched the whole scene with some fear turned her eyes back to him, perhaps calling him a madman, kept quiet and made her way out of house behind him, trying to be small and not rouse his anger. As they walked back down the street several locals gathered around them, thanking them for something, Maze couldn't hear what it was they were happy about with the many voices mixing together but eventually he figured out that Toby had been the main cause of the town's strife and with him gone things might finally get better.

The two Heroes finally pushed their way past the crowd and made for the inn above the bar. Maze was disappointed to find that only one room was available for the tow of them but thankfully it had two beds. 'Bed' turned out to be the term applied to two pallets precariously held off the floor by thin twine lines and rickety frames. Maze didn't even bother to remove his belt, he simply placed his staff to one side easily within each, and kept a hand on the Tear of Avo, sleeping sitting up.

Sparrow made herself more comfortable, shedding a few clothes and lying on the prickly mattress, pulling the itchy blanket over her and giving her dog a few pats before settling down. Maze stole a few glances as she undressed; he was a man after all. He found Sparrow to be a very healthy and well formed young woman, and made sure to leave his thoughts there as he felt a light sleep come over him.


	9. Chapter 8: Know Thine Enemy

Chapter 8

Maze opened his eyes just as the sky was beginning to shed the twilight and herald the dawn. Sparrow was still fast asleep, splayed over the bed with the blanket nearly kicked away. Her shirt was still buttoned but her legs, her long, strong, shapely legs were on full display. Maze looked at her, debating whether to walk over and adjust the blanket to give her some more modesty but he surmised she would wake as easily as he should she be approached.

He closed his eyes again and waited for the sunlight filtering through the dirty windows to wake her. He kept them closed as she dressed, only lifting his head and looking at her when the click of boots and the scratch of dog claws on the floorboards.

He nodded to her when she said good morning, and together they left the inn. Sparrow however took some time leaving Bloodstone, she spent copious amounts of money buying equipment, potions, and food she didn't really need and irritated Maze to no end. As they finally left the town she noticed the looks Maze kept giving her and spoke up.

"One of the best ways I know to help a town is to spend money in the shops and bring more wealth in. That and I make quite a good bit of cash by buying cheaply in one town and selling during shortages in another."

"Heroes as Economists, my my."

"Money is money Maze, everyone needs it. Even us."

She hoisted her bag a little higher onto her back, but still hunched over with all the weight.

"I have an idea for you to get some decent practice, and some good money." She said.

"And that would be?"

"There's a town not far from here, called Westcliff. They have an event there called The Crucible. People go in the to fight various things and get prizes for winning. Good way to get your name out there too."

Maze smirked, apparently the people of Albion really needed the spectacle of the Arena after all. He was sure the real Arena was in ruins not far from Knothole Glade, like everything else form his time, but he was slightly pleased to hear of a place to show his prowess.

"I'll need to pick up my armor from Bowerstone first."

"Pick it up, you had some made?"

"Yes, in a manner of speaking. Hopefully I'll be able to use it and make the last two payments later." He more mumbled the part about money but Sparrow's uncanny ears picked him up loud and clear.

"How much is left to pay?"

"Two thousand, but keep your money."

"What did you have them make?"

"I tried to get mail but apparently that's a lost art." Maze bit his tongue, watching his words most closely on the next sentence. "A hardened leather vest and a large black robe."

"And they charged you several thousand?" Sparrow rolled her eyes, "Let me talk to the guy, I can get the price knocked way down."

Maze wasn't one for accepting financial help, mostly because he'd never really needed any, but he wasn't averse to saving his gold either. When they approached the working Cullis Gate Maze stepped on to it, relieved not to have to blow mana on summoning himself to one.

He appeared in Bowerstone Market, Sparrow not far behind him. Night had come and it was so late even taverns were closed. The moonlight cast long, eerie shadows everywhere. Sparrow bristled a little, her old childhood instincts awakening, but Maze relaxed. A deep, dark night with a high moon was just the kind of time he loved. He felt more at peace; it was easier to hide, easier to filter out threatening noises, and he could swear ever since he learned how to cast a spell moonlight made his magic stronger.

"Cow and Corset always gives me a nice discount." Said Sparrow.

"Go ahead, I'll stay out here."

"Why?" there was a touch of concern in her voice.

Maze turned around and feeling suddenly playful, smiled in the way he used to when a girl interested him. Sparrow gulped and blushed as this normally terse and reserved man became quite…dashing.

"I'm a creature of the night, I like wandering about in my element." He said, and with that turned away to wander the streets of Bowerstone once again.

As Maze was out wandering Sparrow took a room in the inn, and sat around with Tasha, rubbing her belly and picking burs out of her golden fur. Normally Sparrow's mind was very unmuddled, simple thoughts and simple answers to any question. She was smarter than she looked, and far sadder, wearing quirkiness and cheer the same way she wore her leather mask. It might take her longer than Maze but Sparrow's mind could unravel any puzzle it was presented with, with the notable exception of two. The first was to do with her sister's death, the second was Maze himself, a walking enigma if ever there was one.

"That name suits him, doesn't it girl?" Tasha was lying on her back, feet in the air and tongue hanging out as Sparrow kept petting and scratching her.

"He acts oddly, like he remembers things from long ago. He was looking at those ruins like they were houses. And he knows of Cullis Gates, and practices magic and martial arts like a solider, like there was a very set way to doing things drilled into him. Hammer's style is all over the place and even my best spells have a certain wildness."

She lifted her free hand to her chin.

"Theresa said that ruins in Bower Lake used to be a place that trained Heroes. If he did train there, how old would he have to be?"

Sparrow said no more out loud, but climbed into bed and bade Tasha climb up with her, then let her thoughts go for now and drifted into a daze.

Maze was quite content for awhile but soon felt himself getting bored these now familiar streets. But that itch to keep moving wouldn't let him do anything else. He had tried to quell this side effect of his paranoia for many years but the only place he ever felt safe enough to really put it down was the Guild, specifically his own quarters. He had known full well that Jack could reach him anywhere but something about his space made him feel… almost immune.

These thoughts got him to wondering who exactly Lucien Fairfax was and was Heroes feared him. Jack of Blades was truly the greatest threat to Albion's existence and here people, Heroes were running around like chickens with their heads cut off at the mere mention of some man. Maze stopped, and realized were he was. He smirked, he'd wandered into Fairfax Castle gardens, how fitting. He stared up at the great spires piercing the black sky. The whitened light made the stone towers look like fingers raking the clouds, clawing for something that wasn't there.

As he stared at the castle he heard footsteps come close and swept into a nearby shadow, allowing the two guards to walk past him none the wiser. As he leaned back his shoulder fell against a window and he felt it give. Curiosity called and he tested the window, indeed it was unlocked and he eased it open, leapt inside and closed it behind him.

He didn't really intend to break into the castle but he figured it's be good to get a feel for who this Lord Fairfax was if her was going to fight him. Maze had entered the building in one of many servants quarters, but luckily for him it was empty and caked with dust. He slipped out the door and made his way through the many corridors, trying to find his way to the rooms that the Fairfax family used. He'd only ever told Weaver but the reason his chose the name Maze was because of his incredible sense of direction, as a child he could find his way home in the worst night storm and now that ability helped him find the Lord's rooms.

The first room he found was the dining room, and it didn't look very good. It was quite lavish, emphasis on was. The velvet seat cushions were being eaten away, cobwebs and dust covered everything, silver on the table had tarnished, plates were full of debris, the curtains were falling off the rods, and the painting son the wall were so dirty he could barely see what they were off. Maze lifted the head of his staff to a painting and touched it ever so gently to the canvas, the replenishing energy clearing the years of dirt away.

It was a portrait of a man in his late twenties, with dark hair and glittering black eyes and quite a fair face, mounted on a giant white horse. The scene showed him out on a hunt, with a pack of dogs milling about the horse's hooves and a fox off in the distance. Maze turned his eyes to the painting above the mantelpiece, touching his staff to it to reveal the image.

The same young man was in the painting, with his hands on the shoulders of a woman with bright blonde hair and odd eyes, one blue one brown. She had a very young girl in her arms, a girl that had her father's dark hair and her mother's odd eyes. Maze left the dining room and headed up a flight of stairs to one of the tallest towers and found what should have been the Lord's private chambers. He sifted through he yellowing papers on the desk, they all contained notes of spell and artifacts form the Old Kingdom. Maze smiled slightly as he read the scribbled writing, seeing this ordinary man struggle to comprehend many things that Maze had intimate knowledge of since his apprenticeship.

He noticed a trend in the notes; many of them pertained to the Tattered Spire, and a ritual, the Ceremony of Ultimate Destiny.

_Right, the spire only responds to the blood of Archon, a normal man like him would never be able to use it, unless he used such a ritual to make himself an artificial Hero. But what does he want the Spire for? What wish does he want granted?_

As he walked along the walls of books, his toe hit a book that was lying on the floor. It skidded under another table and Maze picked it up, brushing dust off the leather cover. Several pieces of parchment stuck out from the bound pages and as he flipped threw it he saw it was all hand written, a journal, Lucien's old journal.

Maze grinned and pocketed the book, and as he headed to the door he heard footsteps banging up the hall. He sighed, cast a barrier spell over the door and looked towards the window. It didn't open, and with another sigh Maze took some steps back and launched himself forward, shattering the window and vaulting out into the night air. For a moment he was suspended, weightless then he plummeted to the ground, bracing himself for impact.

He landed on a foot and a knee, casting a healing spell right away to take care of burst veins and bruises but his Heroic bones held up brilliantly. He checked his pockets and set off into the night, blending into the dark alleys with ease.

Sparrow had fallen asleep even though she'd slept not long before, she didn't like teleporting as much as Maze did, it threw her system off. She rubbed her eyes and tried to get up but she felt Tasha's heavy body pinning down her legs she was about to order the dog off but someone snapped their fingers and Tasha jumped off. Sparrow saw Maze sitting in the chair across the room, actually petting her dog.

"I knew you'd warm up to her."

"Only if she doesn't bark or," he grunted as she shoved her nose in between his legs, "try to do that." He shoved her away.

Sparrow stretched and looked out the window.

"Shops will be open soon, time to get that armor."

She got out of bed and began pulling on her long boots. Maze didn't avert his eyes but didn't make his gazing to obvious either. Soon enough Sparrow made her way to the shop with Maze in tow. The tailor gave her a warm welcome at first but began to sweat when she asked why he charged so much for cloth and leather.

After stuttering out something about a unique design he said the clothes were here and finished and promptly ran back to fetch them. Sparrow seemed quite pleased with herself and took a seat as the tailor came back with the vest and robe. Maze was quite pleased with the work. The vest was more like a breastplate and hooked up on the sides, and was molded to suggest an athletic form. The long black robe was superbly made, the tailor had followed his suggestion to make folds to hide vital areas to the letter yet it didn't balloon out, rather fell in layers. He most liked the embroidery, the gold thread shimmered against the heavy black wool, the patterns taken from maze patterns, twisting and weaving their way in right angles and deceiving bends.

Maze took off his now rather ratty coat and the vest, and removed the rapier that still hung at his side. Sparrow couldn't help sneaking glances at his chest, the tight fitting vest had given her an idea but now she saw despite his perceived age he was quite a healthy and well built man. He buckled the shoulder straps of the new leather breastplate and hooked up the sides, feeling it out. He'd thought he might still need something more than a shirt to wear beneath but this thing trapped heat well. He then slipped into the robe and walked about the room, looked in the mirror and donned that confident smile again.

As he stood in front of the mirror with his hands on his hips, Sparrow found eyes kept looking at him from the top of his thigh high boots to the very nice profile that new breastplate made, to the profile of his face. She squeezed her eyes shut to stop the cycle.

Sparrow managed to talk the tailor down to one last payment of 1500 since the shipping and work costs were pretty much paid off with the last payment. Maze handed him the coins and left his rapier behind, now using the loop for its scabbard to hold the Tear of Avo. The sword was perfectly hidden under the folds of his robe as he walked.

"Where exactly is Westcliff?" he asked as they made their way out of the city.

"Just a little south of here, across the river and a few hours journey down the road."

Maze summoned his mana again and felt for a Cullis Gate in that area. There was quite a bit of movement over one Will line but to Maze's chagrin no Cullis Gates anywhere near there. It'd be at least a day's journey on foot, he took a deep breath and decided to recall the old books on barrier magic while Sparrow and Tasha ran about him.


	10. Chapter 9:Getting My Name Out There

Chapter 9

The river separating the Bowerstone from the Westcliff areas was a wide but lazy one, making its quiet way to the sea as it grew fatter and fatter the closer it got. The day was insufferably hot and Maze was not very glad of his leather armor and black robes. Sparrow and Tasha for once had little energy, the poor lab was walking laboriously by her mistress's side, panting as hard as a dog could. There was a bridge across the river, a ways up stream, but at Maze looked towards the cool sapphire waters they walked along he decided that a swim would do far better than any bridge.

Sparrow heard Maze stop walking and turned to see him shedding his robes and armor and put them in a small leather pack he'd gotten in Bowerstone, then tie the pack to the top of his staff. Then without hesitation his waded into the waters, visibly relived by the cool temperature. He found this was a good place to cross, even getting towards the center of the river it was still only chest high.

"What are you doing?" called Sparrow.

"Not dying from heat stroke." He called back. "Let's see who gets to the other end of bridge first shall we?"

Sparrow shook her head and began walking again but heard a great splash and saw Tasha paddling her way across the river with Maze. He patted her head as she got close and continued to the other side, only needing to really swim in one small spot. Sparrow remained pig-headed and kept to the opposite bank, forcing herself to make it to the bridge.

Maze and Tasha waded along the shallows in the river, now cooled off Tasha regained her exuberance and occasionally ran onto shore to play with sticks and any small animals that were dumb enough to stay still for too long. With the bridge in sight Maze left the water and walked in the cool shade of the trees. He sat down a sun bathe rock and peeled of his wet boots, squeezed the water out of them and let the heat of the day dry them. Not long after he saw Sparrow appear the opposite end of the bridge. Tasha came up with a large stick that she rubbed against his arm.

"Fine." He said, taking the stick and tossing it into the water. Tasha vaulted after it and splashed her way to the toy, then made her way back.

The breeze running over the bridge helped her a great deal and as she got halfway Sparrow saw Maze sitting on the other end, throwing a stick in the water for her dog. Her head feel against her chest and she grumbled something under her breath.

"My, my, don't you look hot?" Maze said as she got to the other end.

Sparrow gave him a look, then hopped over the guardrail and jumped into the river. She fell in with a roaring splash and her dog was not far behind. The tow of them swam aimlessly for a few minutes then came back ashore.

"Your right," she said, her high boots squelching with her steps, "I was hot, I feel better now."

Maze just smiled as she walked by, put his own boots on and left his armor in his pack for now. Their clothes dried quickly and the forest grew much thicker and provided more shade. At last Westcliff came into sight. It reminded him of Knothole Glade, surrounded by thick forest and a slightly slip shod wall of sharpened trees trunks. They were allowed through the gate and Maze felt that inside it resembled a slightly cleaner version of Bloodstone. The town was obviously still being built and the sounds of construction echoed through the town, drowned out occasionally by the raucous cheering of a crowd gathered in the arena building looming at the top of the hill. The partners wasted little time in the unfinished town and made for the Crucible building.

Maze had fought in the Arena in his younger days and though he emerged victorious he had been sorely challenged to win that title. The Arena was no place for a novice and had claimed many a seasoned Hero as well. As he entered the sheltered, musty room below the stands to prepare he hoped for a test equal to the one he faced before, but his hopes weren't high. It wasn't Heroes fighting for glory anymore, it was normal people, painfully weak by comparison.

Maze made sure to stock up on potions, and spoke to Sparrow.

"I'm afraid I'm not going in, already ran the gauntlet." She grinned, "so its my reputation you have to live up to. Good luck!"

She clapped him on the back headed back up towards the stands.

Maze didn't have to wait long before he was ushered to the entrance to the first room. Apparently not many contestants in this batch were living very long. As he entered the crowd cheered half heartily and the two announcers introduced him.

"Good afternoon everyone! This is Allen Murray here with Mad-dog 'The Strangler' McGraw. We have a new contestant here today, this one simply calls himself 'Maze'."

There was some cheering at the sound of his name, but mostly booing. Maze rolled his eyes and readied his staff.

"Right! First up, the terrible, the horrible,"

_Hobbes, I'm sure._

"Beetles!"

_Oh, please, could you at least try?_

One giant Enflame spell made short work of every insect.

The Crucible crowd fell almost completely silent, and the announcer sounded more than a little scared. Mad-dog made a nervous laugh, then said

"He has a few bombs or something on him, I'm sure."

"Y-yes, I think your right."

Maze smirked.

Better get ready for some more shocks then.

In came another wave of beetles, this time felled by a Chain Lightening spell.

"Bloody hell? What's wrong with him?" yelled Allen.

"Nothing, truly. But I do hope you'll let me keep fighting, wouldn't want to cut the entertainment short would we?" Maze fixed his burning eyes on the announcer's box. He could just see them staring back, and saw one of them nod to a nearby man. The door to the next room opened.

"Right then, lets give this man a go, shall we?" Allen's voice was still peppered with fear.

Maze walked into the next room, and once he got in the door closed behind him and he braced himself for the next challenge.

"By the way folks, Maze here just broke the record for clearing the beetle room the fastest." There wasn't much response from the crowd.

"And now, perhaps an all time favorite, the nasty, the vile, the Hobbes!"

Several Hobbes waddled in, all of them melee based. Maze charged his Physical Shield but resisted the urge to draw the Tear of Avo and relied on his staff. He spun his weapon, bashing in skulls and shattering ribs. The sight of blood was what finally got the crowd behind him. He'd cleared the first wave in no time, and made short work of the second even with the mages trying to give melee support.

"Amazing!" blood lust had cleared away Allen and Mad-dog's fear as well, "Another record folks! We haven't seen a performance like this since the Hero Sparrow fought the Crucible!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Allen, there still plenty to go."

Maze stepped through to the next room, quickly downing a mana potion. A pit sat in the middle of this room. Maze smirked as larger, stronger Hobbes entered. He stood with his back to the pit, and let them group around him, adding a little tension. He then jumped over them and landed squarely behind them, then used Force Push to dump well over half of them into the pit. The rest he finished off with Lightening spells and his staff.

The next wave included mages and Hobbes that looked bloated and moved far slower than the others. He unleashed a bolt of Lightening at one and it blew up.

_Hmm, useful._

Maze ran about the room a few times, forcing them all to gather up in one group, then hit a few of the bloated ones again. They took out nearly all of the group with them. One Force Push sent all but one into the pit. A single mage stood quivering in front of him. Maze took one step towards it and the creature flung itself into the pit, joining its comrades.

"Well, now, first time I've seen a case of Hobbe suicide."

"Can't say I blame it though. Alright, give it up for Maze everyone!"

The crowd's cheering was much louder now, but not everyone was behind him yet.

_That'll change soon. As long as you actually challenge me now._

The next door opened and he went through.

"All right, now for an extra special one. Ladies and gentlemen, for your enjoyment, the unholy Hollow Men!"

Undead shambled into the room. Maze rolled his eyes. Again he let them get dangerously close and released Enflame. Two hits of the spell and the Hollow Men were gone. The second wave came in, but to his chagrin/pleasure they resisted his fire spells surprisingly well. Now Maze drew the Tear of Avo and he couldn't help but smirk as he heard several people gasp. The blade's power was more than enough to kill an undead with one hit, yet he found himself being a little more showy than usual. Now the people were really cheering for him, and Maze scooped up some coins thrown on the floor for him.

"Blimely! That's quite the blade, eh, Strangler?"

"It looks like something out of the Old Kingdom Allen!"

Maze walked calmly through the next door.

"Now, for your pleasure, spared the headsman's block, bandits!"

Now, will you give me a challenge?

Barrels painted black with red skulls littered the room, and Maze decided to make use of them. He moved quickly, using Fireballs to blow up the barrels and kill bandits, then teleporting to a new position and repeating, but he eventually ran out of barrels and still had four enemies left. He charged his Physical Shield spell again impaled one, then slashed another open, beheaded the third and knocked the last one to the ground, finishing him as he lay bell up.

The people in the stands screamed, and the door opened to the next room.

"An amazing performance so far but there's still more! Now for the dastardly, fearless Highwaymen!"

A bandit is a bandit, easy pickings.

Maze saw various switches on the walls, traps no doubt, but how best to trigger them? The Highwaymen didn't waste time and were soon swarming him. He teleported to the other side of the room and pulled one of the triggers. Fire leapt out of one of the holes in the wall, causing three Highwaymen to die screaming and make the whole room smell like burning dog hair. Maze kept up the strategy of luring them towards a hole and then teleporting to the right trigger but they only feel for it three more times. He was a little surprised.

He resorted to simply hacking and slashing them into mince meat, staying at the center of the room so they couldn't use the same tactic he had used on them. It took a little longer but he smiled when a good hit the cut his opponent's sword in half made the crowd roar.

"A hit! A very palpable hit!"

Finally every Highwayman lay dead in their blood and the door opened for the next room. Maze caught his breath and stepped through.

"All right, and old favorite, literally! A monster that has been terrorizing the Albian countryside since the Old Kingdom, the Balverines!"

The furry, blood covered monsters rushed him at once, only to be knocked back by one Force Push. Maze only had time to notice the barrel of explosives hanging from the wall and the holes in the floor before another one charged. He barrel rolled out of the way and tried to look for trigger switches. There were none but he could hear metal gears clacking and some of the spike traps activated, hurting one of the monsters. As some spikes were lowered others came up.

_Finally, I was wondering if you were ever going to make this interesting._

Maze relied on his sword once again, using his teleporting to get behind a Balverine and get a few hits in to kill it, always being mindful of the spikes in the floor and using a Force Push to give himself some space from time to time. He whittled their numbers down to the last two, and as he and his targets danced around each other looking for an opening the crowd began to chant his name.

"Maze! Maze! Maze! Maze! Maze! Maze!"

"Well knock me over with a feather he's gotten popular fast. And not only that, he's on the verge of beating Sparrow's perfect time too!"

"Well if he beats it; it won't be perfect anymore will it?"

One of the Balverines rushed him and he jumped aside, slicing open it's abdomen as it barreled past. While it was lying on the ground watching its own entrails spill out he jumped the last one, severing its head. The crowd cheered louder than ever and threw money and flowers to him as he whipped the blood off his blade and headed towards the next room.

"What a reception! But it's not over for Maze yet! He's one final enemy to put down! It takes ten men to kill one of these blighters and it took twice that to capture this one, it's the indestructible Rock Troll!"

Maze furrowed his brow as the troll rose up out of the earth and chortled.

_My kingdom for a bow. _

He put away the Tear of Avo and slammed down his staff, activating his spell of Slow Time. He then jogged around the troll, avoiding its attacks and throwing powerful fireballs at it, whittling down its health. Chips of stone began falling off the troll and he could see it getting angry, it was now beginning to throw three rocks at time at him. He cast Slow Time again and moving in closer, running backwards around it to make it keep turning, still throwing fireballs at it. It was dangerous close to death when he saw it get ready to jump and cause a mini earthquake, so he backed up out of range but his spell wore off. The troll threw two rock attacks at him, and for a moment everyone lost sight of him in the dust and debris.

Just as all were ready to call him dead, a great blast of fire hit the troll from behind and it died its dramatic death. Maze walked up as it sank into the ground and snatched up the ruby that had served as the creature's heart. He held it up and the people roared. Off in the stands he saw Sparrow jumps up and down screaming at the top of her lungs, and Tasha by her side barking like mad.

"Unbelievable! Simply incredible! I've never seen anything like it!"

"I don't think you will again, Allen! Its official, we have a new champion, and anyone who wants to run the Crucible again will have to live up to Maze's standard!"

Maze bowed for his audience and went around the room a few times, collecting money and goods thrown down for him, and just for show handing flowers to some young girls bending over the wall just to touch him. When he was done he left for the under rooms again, and was patted on the back by many contestants. Sparrow came running up and jumped up, throwing her arms around him.

"Maze! You're amazing!"

She kissed both his cheeks and kept jumping up and down.

"Everyone will be talking about Champion Maze after this!"

"I think they already are Sparrow."

She squealed and ran towards the exit, Maze could only smile and follow her out in his own slow pace.


	11. Chapter 10: A Night With Him

Chapter 10

Finally Maze felt that his coin pouch was at the proper weight, he'd made a good 50,000 in prizes and coins thrown to him. He and Sparrow hadn't tarried long in Westcliff and were now walking down a long road heading back to Bowerstone. The sun had set and the moon was beginning to rise off the crowns of the trees. Maze felt no drop in his energy but Sparrow's footsteps were getting further and further apart and she was already several yards behind him. Maze stopped and waited for her, then veered off the road into the trees. Sparrow was confused but still followed him. When she caught back up he was clearing small twigs and leaves from a spot in a stand of trees, while putting the large branches in a pile. The then lined the pile with some stones and threw a very small fireball at them

Sparrow sat down in front of the fire, already feeling like she was being lulled to sleep watching the flames dance. Maze sat next to her, surprisingly, and Tasha settled herself on her mistress's other side. The hound was asleep within minutes but Sparrow felt like something wasn't quite ready to let her sleep.

Her eyes wandered over to her companion again, lounging in front of the fire. The silence was almost painful but for the life of her she couldn't think of anything to say to him. Maze didn't seem to mind the quiet but it was him who spoke first.

"I'm curious as to how you managed to burn off so much energy just sitting in the stands."

"I felt like a hummingbird on ten giant sized energy potions."

Maze chuckled. Sparrow's mind was blank again, till eyes flitted back to him and spotted the pommel of the Tear of Avo on his hip. She remembered what he'd said about her ancestor and questions a plenty popped up.

"How do you know that the Hero of Oakvale is my ancestor?"

Maze considered his words carefully.

"I know a lot about the Heroes of old, and I know how quickly having more than one skill was bred out of them when they began marrying normal people. It's not hard to rack his bloodline through the Heroes he sired, and quite honestly your having all three virtues is a dead giveaway."

"But if having all three virtues was common in his day, what was it about him that made him so powerful?" she asked. Maze suddenly felt like a school teacher.

"There were whispers that his line descended from the great Archon himself, but really, all Heroes descend from him. Perhaps his blood was a purer example, I'm inclined to believe that's true since his power has been passed down 500 years without the blood thinning."

Maze finally turned his eyes to her and said something that was a hint to his past, though he hoped she would not spot it.

"It's not just him you count among your great ancestors. His mother, Scarlet Robe, was the Hero of her day. She was the first woman to become Arena Champion, and she was known as the Slayer of Balverines. But she was very kind hearted, and sweet. Many men chased after her, I think she must have received dozens of marriage proposals but the time she was 20."

Sparrow was lost in her thoughts for a moment, imagining seeing Scarlet Robe in her greatest glory. She wished she could step back in time for just a moment and fight by Scarlet's side.

While Sparrow was daydreaming Maze's own mind became lost in the past. He focuses on not one thing in particular but rather sifted randomly through memories centuries old. He himself had wondered what made Sabre and his mother Scarlet so incredibly strong when he paled by comparison.

_No, remember they are dead now. You are back, and now you are the strongest. You proved that today. _

His fixed his gaze on the young woman next to him. He studied her face, trying to decide if she resembled either Hero or even Theresa. She had dark hair like them but that was it. Each of them had very long, thin features, rather hawk-like and very distinctive. Sparrow was so many generations removed she'd taken on other features, her face while not rounded still had a very childish quality, her deep green eyes sparkled with a playfulness all of them were to world weary to possess.

And yet she was a very tangible part of them. Maze had wanted to be the Hero Scarlet's boy was. He'd claimed the Hero's sword, and now found himself trying to decide whether he wanted to claim his descendent as well. The girl was quite appealing and was obviously drawn to him. Should he or shouldn't he?

Sparrow looked up from the flames to see Maze inching closer to her, fixing her with the most burning, intense stare the likes of which no man could match. She gulped and felt her hands begin to tremble. Then his face softened a little, and he removed one glove and reached up to stroke some hair out of her face. Sparrow shivered a little to feel that first touch, the first that she had not initiated. Her eyes kept flashing back and forth between his eyes and his hand. Just as suddenly has his had softened he frowned.

"What?" she asked.

"Your mask, I'm so used to it now, I just realized I've never seen you without it."

Sparrow bit her lip. She was used to it too, so much so that she didn't like being without it. It protected her about as well and wet tissue paper but it gave her a confidence she didn't have otherwise. In a way, it let her hide.

"You don't have to remove it. I understand why you wear it."

Maze began pulling his hand away from her cheek but instead of opening the space between them he stayed close, and let his hand drift down her neck and shoulder, finally tracing a finger along her own hand. He saw clearly the goosebumps rise as he touched her and decided to keep testing the waters. He leaned closer still and she felt his lips brush hers very, very lightly. It was a kiss only in the loosest sense.

Maze pulled back a little and examined his emotions, his motivations. It was nothing new for him to move so fast, living as he did but he was always very careful about who he chose to sleep with. He'd learned early not to tease someone you weren't going to be interested in for long, especially when it came to other Heroes. Even with his cautions he felt he'd rather pursue her, there was more to gain than anything else.

While Maze was so very logically dissecting his feelings Sparrow was overcome by hers. Feeling his lips against hers had unleashed a torrent, she wanted this man, she wanted him more than other she had ever dreamed of. Before he could move in again she jumped into his lap, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. Maze was a little surprised but quite delighted with her fervor. He wrapped his arms around her waist and ran his hands over those curves he spotted in Bloodstone.

He was worried that 500 years of death had taken their toll but as she pressed against him the sounds and sensations made his body remember. He turned to lay her down beneath him, quickly opening her jacket and shirt, cupping her breasts, realizing with a smile how much he had missed this. He slipped out of his long black robes and removed his leather armor but kept the belt and his sword at his side. Sparrow sat up and placed a hand firmly between his legs, the sweet friction eliciting a moan from him. He caught one breath in his mouth and sucked, she held him there with one arm but kept her other hand where it was.

He lay her back down and examined the small shorts she wore, finding that silken chords on the sides allowed him to remove them without playing her belt. Sparrow was a little nervous as she watched him adjust his sword belt and loosen his trousers, she was no virgin but this man, she wanted to please him so badly. She gasped as he pushed in, hardly believing that this was happening. Even in sex Maze was like no other man, he made her feel sweet pleasure she never expected.

For a few moments his clear mind begin to haze over, trying old tricks to make her squeal and gasp. Suddenly the sound of snapping twigs and crunching leaves broke through his ears.

_No, no not now. _

Tasha had woken up and was growled, whipping her head around and snarling in every direction.

_Crap, I should have known. _

Maze hadn't stopped moving and Sparrow was too far gone to notice.

_I can pull this off. I just have to time it right._

He sat her up and she gasped again as the new position let him slip deeper. He kept an arm around her and his eyes closed, but held up one hand and kept listening, tracking the movements of their uninvited guests.

"Oh, Maze…oh, I, ah!"

She was getting close and as good as it felt he couldn't let himself lose focus. Finally the men moved close enough for his spell. He lifted his above his head and let loose a furious storm of lightening in all directions. He scared not only their attackers but Sparrow as well. She could not grasp why he'd done that just as they were getting to climax. As quickly as he cast the spell he pushed her down and redid his trousers, drew his sword and parried the first blow from a still lightening shocked attacker. He stood up and began to fight, but somehow managed to throw his robes over her and even re-don his armor between sword strikes.

Sparrow cowered under his robes and watched him defeat every enemy, the Tear of Avo often sundering their blades. Time felt like it was going slower somehow and she found herself wondering how this man could literally jump from sex to war with not a second in between. Maze battled the last Highwayman, finally knocking the blade from his hands. The man fell over and Maze pointed the Tear of Avo at his throat. Then he heard the click of a trigger right behind his head.

"You come with us." Said the gunman in menacing tones.

A shot roared through the night air and the gunman fell over, dead. Maze sliced off the head of the other and turned back to Sparrow, her rifle still smoking.

"Thank you." He said, flicking blood off his blade. He stepped over and knelt down in front of her.

"I'm sorry I had to do that. It was quite the mood killer wasn't it?"

Sparrow put her gun to the side and threw off his robes, pulling him for a kiss.

"Kind of, but now I just want you more."

Before Maze could do anything her nimble finger had removed his armor and his belt and pull him back on top of her. He adjusted her so she could lie on his robes and pulled off her jacket and shirt, then picked up were they had left off.

Sparrow woke up the next morning not really sure where she was. Then she saw the black wool she was laying on and that everything except her boots and mask was lying on the ground. Maze was still asleep, pressed up behind her with one arm draped over her waist. His boots were still in place and his trousers, more or less but other than that he was as naked as her.

She grabbed his wrist and snuggled up and against him, he responded to her and tightened his grip on her. She could feel his warm breath travel down her neck and got extremely giddy thinking that when she met him he practically ran from her. Fastest turn around yet.

Maze was apparently awake because she felt his fingers leave her waist and wander down to her sex and slip in. She grunted and bit her lip, letting him push her over onto her belly. He lifted her hips a little and removed his fingers, then pushed in. He had to get onto his knees to maintain a good angle without making her go on hands and knees herself. It did not take either of them long to finish.

Maze leaned over and lay on top of her for awhile, she seemed to enjoy feeling his chest and his warmth against her. Then he felt something cold and wet hit his bare arse and he jumped off of her. Tasha gave him that dumb look only dogs can give and licked her nose. He rolled his eyes and yanked up his trousers, retrying the strings and finding his discarded belt. Sparrow was rather disappointed but began redressing herself, finding both halves of her shorts and beginning to lace them back on, but found on silk chord was missing.

Tasha pushed her nose under the robes and pulled out the missing chord, giving it to her mistress. Maze was dressed much quicker and waited a few minutes before she got off the last bit of his clothes. He beat most of the dirt off them and picked off the twigs before putting it back on. He remembered now why he preferred taking a woman to a bed rather than just making love in the woods.

"Well, what now?" Sparrow's voice rang out in the quiet morning.

From her expression he could tell she wasn't speaking of their journey.

"As long as you're not married I see no reason to stop." He said, raising an eyebrow.

Sparrow giggled and hopped to her feet, kissing him again before prancing off the road. Maze wondered what exactly he'd started as he followed her, but stopped a second when his foot caught on a now empty leather coat. He looked around and saw that everywhere a Highwayman had fallen last night there was now just a collection of discarded clothing. He furrowed his brow and kneeled down to examine some of them. Magical residue coated the inside of the coat and the buckle on the shoulder strap bore the insignia of an F, styled to fit within the image of a spire piercing the heavens. The old Guild Seal was engraved behind it.

Maze snatched the buckle and hurried to the road where Sparrow was waiting for him.

"Hey, I just remembered you owe me some lessons still…what's wrong."

"The men I killed last night, they disappeared. And this…" he held out the buckle.

"Do you know it?"

For the first time he'd seen Sparrow's cheer melted away and real anger came to her features.

"Lucien." Was all she said.

"His men?"

She nodded. Maze looked at the insignia once again.

_Is he moving against her, or me?_


	12. Chapter 11: Into Death's Maw

Chapter 11

Sparrow swung at the dummy, trying to cleave it in half as Maze had showed her. The burlap 'skin' split open and straw flew out but the dummy stayed in one piece. It was her third try and still she couldn't cut any of these things.

"Maybe my sword isn't sharp enough." She said.

Maze rolled his eyes and stepped up to her.

"Give me the blade." He thrust his hand towards her.

She handed it over.

"Now watch closely, you don't just charge your opponent and expect your blade to do all the work. It's a tool, and you need to put the proper strength and technique…" He spun and whipped the sword through the air, cleaving the dummy in two. "Behind your attack."

"I thought that spinning was for show."

Maze frowned.

"Nothing about your fighting technique should be for show, nothing."

Sparrow's eyes darted away from him, she couldn't stand to look at him with that deadly serious attitude. It was hard to believe this man was making sweet love to her not a few hours ago.

Maze gave her back her sword and made her take a proper stance, poking and pinching her when she deviated from it. Sparrow did that flying spinning move more times then she cared to count. Still even with all the yelling, scary looks, slapping, pinching and times she nearly got sick from the spinning, Sparrow got a hang on the move and learned also to perform it without getting nauseous. Unfortunately Maze did not give her a break once she mastered it, rather he moved straight on to drills involving blocking and rolling.

He challenged her to block or doge every attack he threw at her, not easy even with him using just his staff.

"Eventually, you'll have to block me while I have the Tear of Avo." He said as he beat her back towards a tree.

"Looking forward to it." Sparrow said sarcastically as she rolled out of the way before she hit the tree.

"Good, now start taking advantage of being at my back."

"You want me to hit you?" she said as she dove in for an attack.

Maze lifted his staff over his back and blocked her with ease.

"I want you fight by using every advantage you've got. You'll never hit me in these drills but you will knock the brains out of any other opponents."

Maze spun his staff as he turned around, blocked a few of her lunges and rolled behind her, whacking her in the back.

"Ah!" Sparrow fell to her knees.

"Get up! If you let a blow like that knock you down you might as well offer up your neck on a platter!"

She scrambled to her feet and did her best to fend him off, he yelled every time she slipped the smallest iota out of stance or didn't exploit some random opening. She was getting very sick of this and couldn't believe she had liked him so much only a few hours ago. He yelled at her again for falling out of stance and she snapped, all she wanted to do was whack him for once. She charged but he saw it coming, and placed his staff to block any blows from her height. But she surprised him; she jumped up high enough to clear his staff and swung. He dodged it but only just, losing a few silver strands to her vicious swing.

Sparrow landed with a thud and came back to herself.

"Oh," her eyes and mouth widened in shock as he rubbed his head, "I…I…didn't, oh, I."

Maze burst out laughing.

"Good, you actually surprised me a little."

He kept laughing a little as he picked up their bags.

"I think we've drilled enough for today."

Sparrow took her bag from him, still thoroughly confused.

"But I nearly scalped you."

"You cut some hairs, I told you you'd never get a real hit in on me, but I never said you couldn't get close."

As he said that he lowered his voice and leaned into her, lighting that little flame of romance again. Sparrow blushed but closed the distance and kissed him, all her anger melted away with his burning hot mouth. Once the kiss broke Maze set off for the road, leaving Sparrow a few steps behind as she collected her thoughts.

"You just keep confusing me." She said as she caught up.

Maze smiled.

"You like that though." He said.

"How do you know that?"

"Any woman interested in me is a woman who likes a little mystery in her men." He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Am I wrong or am I right?"

Sparrow blushed again and diverted her eyes, Maze chuckled and turned his back to the road. Tasha came up to her side and whined for a pet. She'd been lying in the bushes all day and didn't like being ignored. Sparrow patted her golden head and fed her a piece of jerky. Tasha happily lapped it up, then sniffed the air and ran off into the trees barking. Sparrow followed her and dug up a small stash of gold. Maze didn't stop rather slowed down and let them catch up again.

"Good girl Tasha!" Sparrow rubbed the dog's head, let her jump up on hind legs and fed her another treat.

"Good girl!"

"Sparrow."

"You know of Theresa, yes?"

Sparrow grew a little more sedate at the mention of her caretaker.

"Yes, she raised me, after…"

"What?"

Sparrow took a deep breath and forced the words out.

"My sister and I bought a music box one day. We thought it was magic and wishes we could live in Fairfax Castle with Lord Lucien. The box disappeared, but we thought our wish came true when some guards said he wanted to see us. WE met him that night, and he…he had us stand on some platform, then got all weird and mad, and shot us. He shot both of us. He killed my sister, and he blew me out of the window. Theresa found me, she nursed me back to health and helped me learn about being a Hero."

"Would it shock you to know that such a tragic story id common among Heroes?"

Sparrow wasn't sure if he was annoyed with her or just stating a fact.

"No, Hammer lost her father too."

"Hammer, another Hero?" he asked.

"Yes," Sparrow perked up a bit, "The Hero of Might."

"I see."

"I have to find the Hero of Will now," Sparrow chimed, "and I think its you."

"Wrong." Said Maze.

"Why? How do you know your not the Hero of Will?"

"Well, being the Hero of Might Hammer only has the virtue of Might, correct?"

Sparrow nodded.

"Then it stems to reason the Hero of Will can only do magic, right?"

She nodded again.

"I possess all three virtues, then by these lines of logic I cannot be the Hero of Will."

Sparrow pouted a little.

"Can't things just be easy?" she folded her arms.

"Not for us. Though, if it's a Hero of Will you need, I think I know the best candidate."

"Whose that?"

"Another wizard, Garth."

Sparrow slapped her forehead.

"Of course! But its several days to Brightwood tower."

"Not for me, hang on."

Sparrow grabbed his arm and he teleported them straight to the interior of the tower.

"You been here already?" she said as they quickly climbed the steps.

"He found me in Bowerstone a while back. He should be here… what the?"

Instead of the dark skinned mage a man with a great glowing collar and a large rifle stood in the library atop the tower. The man turned around charged them, shooting wildly. Maze threw a Fireball at him and knocked him on his back. The man lay gasping and Maze put a foot on his chest, pressing down on his ribcage.

"Where is Garth, do not waste my time gnat."

He pressed a little harder, letting the man know it wouldn't take much for Maze to simply stomp his ribs in. The man gulped in air, and laughed as well as he could.

"He's where he needs to be, in the Spire." He gulped again.

"Lord Lucien wants to see you there too, Maze."

"I'd tell you give him a message, but your not going to live to do any such thing."

With that he shattered the man's ribs, caving his chest. The poor bastard was knocked out but he lived, so Maze finished him off with a casual bolt of Lightening.

"What do we do now? Lucien has Garth…" said Sparrow.

Maze turned around and put a hand to his chin.

"If Lord Lucien wants to see me, he can see me."

"Your not going to go to the Tattered Spire, are you?" Sparrow's growing worry was plain in her voice. Maze gave her that look that always says 'you guessed what I'm going to do but there's no way I'm saying it out loud'.

"That's crazy! You're a smart man why would you walk into a trap like that?" she rushed forward and grabbed his shoulders.

"Maze! Don't!"

"Quiet." His voice was a soft as it had ever been, "Quiet. I've known far worse than him." He put his arms around her, letting her feel safe in that warm circle. "He wants to use me, not kill me. And there he gives me the upper hand by making me more useful alive. You needn't fear."

"I don't want to lose you." Her voice was a whisper, "I don't want to lose anyone."

Maze placed his head on hers. It was only natural for her to fear that, after what she'd seen.

"Come now, steel yourself. We'll take our time getting there, and I'll make sure to train you as well as I can. While I get close to Lucien, I need you to become a guard at the Spire."

"What? Why?"

"Its always better to have someone on the inside to help." He smiled, his eyes sparkled with hidden guile.

"Ok." Sparrow still sounded scared, and buried her face in his chest. Maze lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers, beckoning her mouth to open and slipping his tongue past her lips. Maze did things in that kiss that nearly drove her out of her mind, making her forget all the anguish and worry of a few moments past. When he finally pulled put she caught her breath and shivered.

"What was that?" she sounded almost drugged.

"Oh, a little something I picked up from a girl I knew years back." He led to the door and they began climbing down the steps, "she was from Samarkand." He said with a wink.

Sparrow gulped and kept a tight grip on his arm, feeling her knees go weak just at the thought of the other things he might know.

True to his word everyday Maze drilled Sparrow in the arts of the sword, the ways of the Will, and in the use of the bow, though he had to translate it into gunplay. Sparrow soaked up everything he taught her, and just when he thought that sponge could take not another drop she consumed another sea of knowledge. Maze watched her go from an adept amateur to a fighter that even in the days of the Guild would have given anyone a run for his or her money. She learned to rely less on just one virtue during a fight and employ all three to her advantage.

When they stopped to rest at night Sparrow would often climb into his lap, kiss his neck and nibble an ear. Maze would always take off his black robes and lay her down on them, then teach her techniques he learned as a younger man. He always held a few things back, saving them for the next night. They'd make love till neither one of them had the energy to lift a finger.

One night Maze sat by the fire wearing only his trousers, watching Sparrow as she slept bare breasted in the firelight. For the first time in a long, long time he was content, comfortable in someone's company. He wondered if this odd ability to draw everyone in was what made her ancestors so beloved. Too bad Theresa didn't seem to share it. He crawled back of to her and kissed her hair, placing an arm over her body.

A few days later and Maze could already smell the sea air. That was not the only sign they neared the coast, though. Just barely visible, miles out, the blurry black image of a tower was poking out of the ocean. Maze and Sparrow stood on a hill high above the coast, and they could see people being loaded onto large barges, being pushed about by burly men in dark red clothes and glowing red collars.

"Are you sure you don't want me with you?" said Sparrow, Tasha cowered a little and whined.

"No, I'll go on this ferry, you wait at least a day before you make your appearance. Give no signs of your presence, stay hidden at all costs, you understand?"

Sparrow swallowed hard and nodded.

"I'm going to miss you, and worry about you all the time."

"It'd be better to put me from your mind. If you don't want them to find out we know each other, act and think as if you have never known me."

Sparrow gave a heaving sigh, a physical sign of her mounting pain.

"Peace, dear one." He kissed very softly. "I will return to you unscathed. Now, go hide."

She and Tasha sulked off into the trees, and Maze made his way down to the boats.

"Oi! 'o are you?" yelled one of the guards.

"My name is Maze. I believe you've been recruiting Crucible champions?"

Maze got exactly the reaction he expected. The guard smiled and waved him onto the boat. He was one of the last to board and the ferry set off through the dark, choppy waters. Maze's black and gold robes billowed in the sea winds, his white hair and impressive height making him stand out like a sore thumb amidst all the very regular looking champions. The men chatted with each other but none approached him, his reputation had traveled quickly.

Finally the boat pulled up next to the dock and they disembarked, and all gawked at the incredible building before them. Even unfinished the Spire was imposing, made of a stone black as midnight but harder than diamonds. It was almost composed of miniature spires, each one stabbing the sky and clinging to another to create this one great monument.

Maze felt a distinctive pulsing beneath his feet, and he could hear the thumping of the ley lines being drawn into the Spire, giving it a heart beat all its own. While the others struggled to wrap their heads around it as they walked towards the entrance, Maze examined all around him. He'd need to find out what those collars were for soon, and make sure he didn't get one himself. One of the guards yelled for the men to shut up as they approached a great staircase, on which stood an older man, who like Maze was dressed in elegant black and gold.

The man's face was very gaunt and pale, like he'd spent far too many years cloistered away from the sun. His hair though tied with a black ribbon and as white as Maze's, was still unkempt and straggly. His glittering black eyes were the only thing that let Maze recognize him. They no longer had the joy and softness he saw in the portraits, they were now surveying all before him with a glint of contempt and cunning madness.

Lord Lucien rose his hand and began a well practiced speech for his literally captive audience.

"The world outside these marvelous walls is a rotting, corrupt husk. Reason is absent. Instead of order, there is only chaos. Chaos does not punish evil, nor reward righteousness. Chaos cuts innocent lives short, and we are to accept this as fate…I beg to differ." Lucien's even tone broke for those few last words, a little extra darkness could be seen on his features, " You stand in the center of a great instrument of change. I will remake this world, and my creation will be unrecognizable in its perfection. But my will alone is not sufficient for such a monumental task. It is only through your toil, through your labors, through your conviction, that Albion will be transformed. Do not fears the sound you hear, the throbbing beneath your feet. These sensations will soon be as familiar as your own heartbeat. And so long as your heart continues to beat, all I require of you is obedience. Now…" his voice reverberated unnaturally, and he swept his hand over the new recruits, "Sleep."

A wave of white magic swept over them, and all but Maze and guards fell over in a deep sleep.

"Well now," Lucien said in a surprised tone, "You not a normal man are you?"

Maze stopped himself from scoffing but his tone was still a little harsh.

"I'm sorry, but a sleep spell cast by a normal man on a mage is like giving an elephant on crack a children's sleeping pill."

Lucien chuckled.

"Maze I presume?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. I must admit I've been quite anxious to meet you. Please, follow me."

The guards parted to let him through but they seemed in tent on making him bump their shoulders to get through. He simply released a small Force Push as he passed and knocked them on their arses instead. Maze caught a glimmer of a smile on Lucien's face as the lord saw him humiliate his soldiers.

"I really have so much to discuss with you." Said Lucien.

"I'm quite sure of that, Lord Fairfax."

Maze followed Lucien through the gleaming door, inside the Spire.


	13. Chapter 12: Years, and more Years

Chapter 12

Sparrow waited a day just as Maze had said, then boarded the ships to the Spire with yet more recruits. When she got there her blood froze. Lord Lucien stood on the steps and delivered a great speech to them. He seemed completely calm and secure, and there was no sign of Maze or Garth. She barely paid attention to Lucien's words and was surprised when she felt herself suddenly slipping out of consciousness.

She woke up on a raggedy pallet on a hard stone floor, now wearing the same clothing as all the other guards, including their collar. A pair of large boots approached her and she sprang to her feet.

"Morning maggot! Welcome to the Spire, hope ya like it, cause your never leavin'."

_Says you._

"How did I get here?" she demanded.

"You should be pleased, normally chickadees get put on manual labor. Not strong enough to be guards." The man smirked. Sparrow wrinkled her nose.

"Did you come here for a reason?"

"Yea, I did. You'll eat and sleep here in the barracks, and the rest of time you will work. And don't try to take that collar off, cause ya can't, and the penalty for trying is death. Now, your to report to the Commandant immediately."

Sparrow walked past the unsavory guard and made her way through the dark, depressing halls. Banners with odd symbols hung from the ceilings, and cells seemed to line every corridor. As she came to a spot where one side was open to the sea, she felt a breeze again her head and stopped. She lifted a hand to her scalp and felt nothing but smooth skin. Sparrow wrestled with her fury, trying desperately to squelch it, she was sure if she killed a guard she'd be killed too, but shaving a woman's head, that was just cruel.

She stomped down the corridor and nearly blew straight past a cell containing the mage Garth.

_Sparrow!_

"Hey! Its you!"

It was the voice in her head that stopped her but the man who yelled jogged up.

"Remember me, Bob, we came in on the same boat?" he said.

"Oh, yes sorry."

Sparrow glanced towards Garth.

_I don't know how you got here, but it doesn't matter. Your power will do you no good as long as you wear that collar…be patient. _

Bob had been saying something about his sweetheart and blokes in uniform when he noticed Sparrow glance at Garth.

"Only the Commandant is allowed in his cell, but he never gives me any trouble, doya? Keeps nice and quiet. Anyway, can't wait to write to Lil' tell her all about it. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow."

The next door opened and Sparrow nodded to Bob and hurried through. The Commandant's chamber was not far off, and when she first entered it simply struck her as eerie. The room was made of the same black stone as everything else, lit by an unnaturally strong light source, hung only with more red spire banners, and one large window looking out over the complex ad stone over it that almost looked like living rock growing over the glass.

She didn't look at the room for long though, because the 'man' standing at the top of the platform drew her eye in the most horrible way. His skin, what she could she of it, was white, literally white as a corpse's, and from his skull there protruded a numbers of shards of crystal or stone obviously ingrained deep but for some miraculous reason hadn't killed him. His eyes were red where they should be white and yellow in the irises. The rest of him was well concealed under a black uniform and cowl thankfully, and he looked at Sparrow as one looks at a diseased ant.

"I am the Commandant. You are recruit 273." His voice was deep and savage, and there was something in it that simply wasn't right. "That number is not random, it has been assigned to you because I have broken 272 recruits before you. You are simply the next link in the chain."

Sparrow couldn't have cared less about his words, but she was sure he'd sent for her to do more than just spit insults at her.

"You are here to oversee the reconstruction of the Tattered Spire, and to serve Lucien as he sees fit."

Her stomach twisted.

"My job is to ensure the obedience of guards like you. You will do everything I tell you, without question. Failure to obey will cause the device around you neck to activate. Ned I tell you this is not a pleasant experience."

He smiled morbidly.

"This will continue until you submit. Perhaps you think you will resist, some do at first…I misguided sense of personal honor. But you must decide, is your honor really that important to you?"

He motioned for her to walk onto the platform, and she did so slowly, never taking her eyes off him.

"Be still." He said, and lightening bonds appeared to root her in place.

"Look there." He pointed out the window, and she glanced out.

"The Spire has taken ten years so far, and it will take many more before it is complete. Yet our progress is not a random miracle it is a product of obedience. Let us see how well you learned, I am going to hit you, and you are going to thank me. Because I tell you too."

He then punched her dead in the face, his fist felt like the kick of a mule. Sparrow staggered back in spite of the bonds. She hunched over a bit, holding her face.

"Now, thank me!"

Sparrow only stared at him with fierce emerald eyes and flipped him off. An unseen force rocketed through her body, every inch screamed with agonizing pain. Sparrow's muscles seized up and she felt as if her very bones where being shattered within her body.

_Obey, your master orders you to thank him. _

Lucien's voice echoes through her head, and in spite of her pain Sparrow's anger grew. When it stopped she found that even though her body begged for her to avoid the punishment, Lucien's disembodied voice gave her the drive to defy him, and his lackeys. She grinned at the Commandant, and spat on his boots.

The pain started again, and Lucien's voice returned.

_Obey! Thank the Commandant or you shall suffer. _

Sparrow was nearly hyperventilating when it ended, yet still she stared defiantly and ignored orders. Again the collar activated and just before she passed out, she heard Lucien speak again.

_Obey! Do as you are told._

"Something interesting occupying your thought, my Lord?" said Maze.

Lucien shook his a little and made a small smile.

"Just a few disciplinary problems." He walked over to the window Maze was at. In the highest built reaches of the Spire they looked out over the dark ocean and the coast of Albion just beyond.

"My heart swells to think of the change I shall bring to that cursed land soon." Said Lord Fairfax.

"I'm sure." Maze turned away from the window and back to the desk cluttered with papers and books.

"I'm still waiting for an answer Maze." Lucien didn't turn from the window, and Maze didn't turn towards him.

"Since you have Garth here, he could do it."

"Garth turned against me long ago, and you seem to know more than even him."

"True," Maze fingered some of the papers covered in Lucien's scrawled notes. "But still, I have to admit I'm not crazy about the aura of this place."

"The sensations you feel…"

"Will soon be as familiar as my own heartbeat? Don't insult me."

Now Lucien turned just a bit.

"You have no way back to Albion but my ships. And I can tell the Spire is already sapping your power. Now, will you or will you not help me?"

Lucien was offering the position he wanted and needed but he needed to play this game. He remained nonchalant and picked up one of the aging tomes, flipping through it slowly, noting all the annotations Lucien had added. Lucien remained by the window but his eyes were fixed on Maze, his silence masking his extreme impatience with the mage. Just as Lucien was ready to push him again by threatening to remove the offer, Maze spoke.

"As long as you can make sure that I can be mostly unaffected by the Spire, I'll do it."

"And who's to say I can guarantee that?"

"Your men use magic without being sapped. I think you can manage."

"Fine," Lucien stepped away from the window, "I'll have your quarters made ready, and I'll have my best researchers make you something to protect your power. You will also have uninhibited access to all parts of the Spire, with exception of my chambers, and the Heart Chamber."

"Most gracious of you." Maze walked up to him, close enough that Lucien had to crane his neck back to look Maze in the eye. Lucien was a tall man himself but Maze was simply immense. And Lucien didn't like just how close Maze was, or the look he was giving him, but life in the nobility made it easy for him hide any discomfort.

"Be gone now, I'll send for you in a few hours."

"Fine." Maze left the room and let a guard lead him to his temporary quarters. Once alone his confidence gave way to a small amount of worry. Sparrow should be here by now, and he had no idea where she was or how she was doing. He could only hope she would make it through.

38 weeks later…

Sparrow stood looking out over the Spire complex with Bob prattling on as usual. She was beginning to settle into being guard, and beginning to find ways to cope with the pain of defiance. Bob was talking about how he was glad he didn't have a family to miss, and about how he was used to the sounds and feeling of the Spire when another guard cam up and sent him to the barracks. He then gave her orders to go to the detention center. She gave a halfhearted salute and walked off.

She found another guard there, yelling at the starving prisoners.

"Ah there you are!"

His face was hidden by a red mask but she knew he was grinning, every guard but her and Bob seemed to grin.

"Keep watch of these maggots. They're not allowed any food, so don't touch the controls. I'm going to grab a quick bite."

As if that wasn't bad enough, he turned back to the prisoner and rubbed his stomach.

"Tasty food, yum yum."

The prisoner only looked at him with nearly dead, begging eyes, his skeletal frame quivering.

"Be back in a tick."

The guard then left Sparrow alone with them. She rolled her eyes and reached for the food lever.

"You honestly thought I wasn't going to feed these men?" she said as she forced the rusty thing down. The man dove for the food even before it hit the floor. He looked at her like she used to look at any kind adult who gave her candy or coin when she was young. For a second she smiled, then pain started.

Obey! I command you not to help these men.

Sparrow gritted her teeth and forced herself to the next lever.

"You expect someone who starved as a child to let these men starve now?"

She yanked down the next one and as the man looked up to thank her she saw the price for his meal and her willpower. Finally the collar stopped and she moved to the next cell. She pulled the lever and food dropped down, she heard the man say he couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten.

Obey! Let these men go without food.

She shook her hand and practically crawled to next cell. She reached it the man on the other side knelt down to her.

"You can do it." He said. She smiled as best she could and reached for the lever. She pulled it down just enough to feed the man and the collar activated again.

Obey! You were ordered to withhold food!

Sparrow collapsed on the stone floor and felt herself slipping away again. The man in the cell before hadn't touched his food; he was pressed against the barrier, yelling to her.

"Miss! Miss!"

Everything faded away, and she was honestly glad of it.

"I see, I see."

Maze found it was easier than he thought to impress Lucien while making minimal real progress. Knowledge of the Old Kingdom was painfully lacking 500 years after the Guild. And why shouldn't it be, considering the Guild was the greatest source of such knowledge? Maze was surprised any mention of the Spire in anything other than folktales had survived.

He was also glad Lucien didn't seem to have any inkling about how Maze had so suddenly appeared. Garth would certainly never give anything away, and Lucien hadn't seem to care where he came from so long he was an asset to the Spire. Lord Fairfax had set him about to correcting any mistakes they'd made after their resident Old Kingdom expert had fled, and he'd found enough of those to slow the project and tack another 5 years onto it, and that was just in stability issues. He hadn't said a thing about the incorrectly placed ley stones, or the badly chiseled channeling obelisks, or the frankly hap hazard energy crystals. And unless they threatened to actually blow up the complex, he wasn't going to. Let Lucien stay in the dark about that.

"Your sure there is no way around this?" Lucien asked. He suppressed a shiver as he felt Maze's breath down his back. Maze was leaning over his chair as he always did but still the nobleman hated it.

"Not unless you don't wish to build another level onto the Spire." Said Maze.

Lucien sighed and reached for his quill, writing out and order for the required work. Still Maze hovered over him. The man seemed to take every chance he could to make Lucien uncomfortable.

"I appreciate you catching these mistakes we make, but I truly wish there were less time consuming ways to fix them."

"To be quite honest my Lord, it'd be easily to fix these things if you didn't try to build the Spire so quickly. This was built with painstaking care and planning, you can't rebuild it with back breaking speed shoddy workmanship."

Lucien sighed, though he wanted to snarl. Maze was learning how to press his buttons far too quickly.

"How long did it take to build this complex, originally?"

"My best guess says anywhere from 40 to 70 years, not including the preliminary planning."

Lucien cringed.

"The Archons were immortal, or at least exceedingly long lived. And those who served them were not your average men and women. They were in fact of the same bloodline as the Archon they served."

Finally Maze stood up straight.

"Ironic that it was only them most Archon's really trusted, those who actually posed the greatest threat. Far be from them to use those who did not have the first Archon's powers, I think they saw it about the same way as you would see making a common urchin your head butler."

Lucien paused at Maze's words, then turned to look at him.

"Your take on the Old Kingdom is quite different from my last expert's. Garth was always more concerned with the Archon's magic and inventions, and he always held every bit of the Kingdom in reverence."

"It's easy to do so, to forget what life after the golden age was like. You want to know a little piece of truth, Lucien?" Maze gave him a pointed look as he spoke. "The culture and atmosphere of this complex is perhaps the closest recreation of the last days of Old Kingdom I've ever seen."

If Lucien picked up the meaning behind those words, and he surely did, he ignored it. He turned around and continued with his paper work.

"See if you can't find a way to speed these repairs, will you?" he waved his hand dismissively and Maze left the room. He was practically spoon feeding Lucien these dire warning and still nothing settled into that iron skull.

100 weeks later…

Well over two years had passed, and still no escape was in sight. But Sparrow had one bit of hope; long ago she'd seen Maze traveling through the Spire completely free, even without a collar. She was sure he'd spotted her and gave her no small measure of happiness to know that he was alive and in fact better off than her. She was now known amongst prisoners as the one guard who would help in any way she could, but that reputation was a double edged blade.

The other guards wouldn't let her out of their sight if they could help it, and the Commandant had actually adjusted her collar a few times when he realized she was growing resistant to the pain threshold it was set to. Today she walked past Garth's cell again, and as always he stood silently, motionlessly, his Will lines stripped from his dark skin.

_Be patient. Time has little meaning here._

Sparrow gave the tiniest nod.

_Can you hear it? The sound of our Will being sapped. This place is powerful, but it is only a shadow of what it will become. I don't know when we'll be able to talk again. The Commandant has threatened to move me deeper into the Spire. _

She then left through the open door and walked the now familiar path to the Commandant's chamber. The thing stood on top of the platform as always.

"I will make you obey!"

Sparrow rolled her eyes. She might have been punished for it but there was no order to disobey in that sentence.

"I believe you know this man…" he stepped down and thrust his sword towards a limp body lying on the other end of the chamber. It was Bob, muttering Lucien's propoganda.

"Guard 268, I order you to be quiet."

Bob made no response, his mind was obviously tattered beyond repair, but still the Commandant spat commands.

"268, shut your mouth!"

He shook his head and held up his sword.

"Those who do not obey can be made to." He fixed a maniacal grin on her, "But those who cannot obey are useless. Take this sword."

The Commandant held up a well balanced sabre. Sparrow reached for it, slowly and held it in her hand, feeling the weight of it. She took two steps back, and got into the battle stance Maze had drilled into her.

"Good, now…"

Sparrow used the spinning move she perfected in the forest and brought the full force of it down on the Commandant. It didn't have nearly the effect she hoped, it slice open his jacket revealing solid steel body armor, but he still reeled back from the pure force of her attack. He growled and straightened himself, letting the collar do the work for him. Sparrow nearly bit her tongue off and as the pain gripped her yet again.

Obey, you must kill without mercy.

Sparrow put up a façade that collar barely affected her once it deactivated, she shook her head and leapt up, generating another spin and this time directing it towards his neck. The Commandant lifted his arm and protected his neck but his arm was nearly cleaved in half. He grunted and staggered back again, not standing so quickly this time and gripping his wounded arm. Black blood oozed from it and Sparrow's collar activated again.

Obey! I order you to kill this man.

Sparrow looked to attack again but the Commandant was ahead of her this time, catching her arm before she could even land a blow. The collar did its job and the only thing keeping her form seizing on the floor was the Commandant's steel grip holding her up.

Obey! I command you to end this pathetic life.

Sparrow was barely conscious by the time it stopped, and she could feel the last bit of her mind already slipping away.

"Everyone has their breaking point, and I will find yours." The Commandant sneered.

Sparrow snarled and lifted her sword to gut stab him, but he caught the blade with his gloved hand and easily took the rending wound. The collar activated once again and she quickly passed out. Bob was dispatched by the Commandant while she lay on the floor more dead than alive.

67 weeks later…

Sparrow walked through the halls of the Spire, most guards were amazed she was still around. She had hovered near death for days and et she still had pulled through. Her job was now becoming unbearable, even after all this time. Garth was nowhere she could roam, the only other guard she could talk too was dead, and she'd seen nothing of Maze for longer than she could remember.

She missed her Tasha, she missed the dappled sunlight of the forests, she missed roaming free over Albion and living as she pleased, and she missed hearing Maze's deep, proud voice. Every time she thought about him she remembered the days they'd spent getting to this forsaken place, the night they'd spent tangled up in each other by the fire. She now looked upon those few days as the best in her life.

Self is nothing, duty is everything.

Sparrow grimaced. Her collar was now set so that Lucien's voice rang through her head randomly, and she rarely stayed conscious past even one shock. She moved through the halls, her glazed eyes looking over the interchangeable stone, doors, banners, and people.

There is no choice, only compliance.

She wondered if this was what did Bob in, hearing Lucien all the time, listening to this slave making dross.

The weak resist, the ignorant defy.

Sparrow was so far off in her thoughts that she tripped over the corpse of another guard. She stumbled, but caught herself and stood up, rubbing her head. It was almost refreshing to have something change. She looked over his body giving into old habits and found sword and gun exactly like hers and three health potions. She was surprised, guards weren't allowed potions and it was incredibly difficult sneaking in contraband when no one who came ever left.

"We meet again Sparrow."

Garth stood several feet behind her and hit her collar with a bolt of Lightening. She doubled over as the spell caused it to activate.

"You came to rescue me, but your no good to either of us with that collar on."

Suddenly the collar disintegrated and Sparrow felt she could finally take in a real breath. She climbed back to feet and made her way to Garth.

"I've removed mine as well, but it took me years to focus enough Will to get rid of them, and that guard. I've got nothing left. The only way out of here is through the Commandant's chamber but, you'll have to fight alone I'm afraid."

"Well, not alone."

Sparrow's head snapped up and she saw Maze sauntering towards them.

"Who do you think convinced the guards you weren't dangerous enough for an escort of two like usual?"

Garth managed a small laugh, despite his pain and weakness.

"I should have known that was more than dumb luck. You finally join our fight?"

"I've been fighting with you for years now. I just haven't been getting my hands so dirty."

"What have you been doing?" said Sparrow, she placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling exhilarated by being able to touch him again.

"Undermining this thing in everyway I can. I've tacked on a good 10 years to the construction and I've managed to hide a great deal of flaws in the structure, and well as cause some." He smirked. "But I think we need to going now."

Yelling men and running feet could be heard coming towards them, Sparrow whipped out her cutlass and after 4 years Maze drew the Tear of Avo once again. Maze and Sparrow formed a shield in front of Garth and dug in for the first skirmish.


	14. Chapter 13: Land Ho!

Chapter 13

Garth limped along, holding his arm trying to ignore his pain. The guard that brought him from his cell had beaten pretty severely to scare him into complying. It only served to full his anger more but the injuries left would take a long time to heal. Maze and Sparrow fought like no other he had seen.

He understood why both of them were Crucible champions now, Sparrow's skill with a blade was unrivaled and her aim uncanny. And Maze, watching Maze cast spells was like watching an old tale of the Archons leap to life, pure poetry in motion. He found it a little odd to finally be the one watching, helpless, while others fought, particularly when Maze cast Slow Time. He and Sparrow turned into mere blurs racing between the guards, the slightest touch from which sent them flying through the air like rag dolls.

The three of them beat their way back through the Spire finally coming to the Commandant's room. They entered cautiously but found it to empty. Maze was on edge, he'd encountered this kind of trap far too many times, and he could see that Garth and Sparrow didn't trust the situation either. Garth stepped up to the large window and look out to the great harbor suspended above the pit that went into the bowels of the Spire.

"Oh no…"

"What is it Garth?" asked Maze.

"More recruits, I can see them bringing more recruits."

"I'm not going to let them get sucked into this hell too." Said Sparrow. Just as she finished saying that the columns in the room created a ring of lightening around them, trapping them.

"I knew you'd betray us, 273." The Commandant stood by the door, flanked by two large guards, "But you Maze, you're quite a surprise. Lucien will surely kill me for allowing this to happen, but before he does, I will kill you. Because I am obedient."

"Obedience for obedience sake is never a virtue. I wonder how the other side will treat you once the life drains from your body." Said Maze. He pointed the top of his staff at the Commandant and loosed a powerful Lightening Bolt on him. The Commandant spun through the air and landed on his head, but he quickly got to his feet again.

"Sparrow, keep those guards busy!"

"You think I'm going let you kill this bastard alone?"

Sparrow jumped the Commandant and used a small burst of speed to get behind him and start slicing up his back. Maze grunted and took care the two guards as quick as he could, but the Commandant finally managed to turn around and use his considerable Will power on Sparrow. He finished the two men in time to see her hit by a spell that nearly killed her. He leapt forward with Assassin's Rush and cast Heal Life as fast as he could.

"How touching, do you ha…"

Maze blasted the walking monstrosity back once again, this time with a Fireball. That blast seemed to take far more out of him than the Lightening. Maze smirked and threw another at him while he was still down. It made him skid across the floor and into the chains of electricity. They grabbed hold of him his body practically lit up with the energy coursing through it. The stink of burning flesh filled the room as the screaming man's body began to smoke. Finally his screams stopped and he fell from the energy bonds, more a piece of charred meat than a person.

The bonds themselves fell away, and they heard Garth roar. His rose into the air and his Will lines reappeared. When his feet touched ground again his stood up and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally. I think it safe to say you two don't need to protect me anymore."

Garth spread his arms and used Lightening form either hand to activate Cullis Gates on both sides of the room.

"We can use these to get down to the docks, hurry!"

Maze and Sparrow stepped through the blue light and found themselves not more than a few hundred yards from the ships. Garth was a little further ahead, Maze saw him strike the strangest pose. He thrust his hips forward and lowered his hands in front of them, and produced great Fireballs from his hands that hit and destroyed two large frigates.

"What was that? Explosive pelvic thrusts?" Maze smirked at him and Sparrow giggled.

"Self made spell that gets the job done now can we move?" Garth growled, running forward. He summoned ghost blades to protect him and used magic gales to blast back guards trying to bring them down. Maze relied on repeated uses on his Enflame spell keep them from getting to hemmed in, Sparrow switched from blade to pistol, trying to put to use the tricks Maze showed her four years ago. Even years later his effect on her showed, she was able to get in several one shot kills when before she'd had to practically fill them with lead to kill them.

At last the reached the ship and sheparded the wayward recruits back onboard, and with no amount of regret or sadness left the Spire behind. As the ship entered the sunlight again Sparrow shielded her eyes but kept her face turned towards the sky. Sunlight, after over four years, sunlight. Maze walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, she whipped around and hugged him as tight as she could, burying her face in his chest.

"I can't believe we're free, I missed you so much, sometimes you were only a few feet away and I could barely stand it."

"Its alright, we're together now."

He placed a hand on her head and kissed her bare scalp. Sparrow suddenly pushed away from him, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I must look terrible."

Maze placed a hand on her cheek and carefully removed the red band on her head, running his hand over her bare skin.

"You look fine, but since you don't like it…"

"What?" she asked. Maze was only staring at her, then she felt something soft brush her face. She reached to her head and felt her hair re-growing. It waved in the wind, she twined her fingers in it, it was as fine and soft as it was the day she came to the Spire.

"How?" she asked, Maze smiled and tapped his nose.

"Maze really, you need to stop keeping so many secrets." She looped her fingers under his leather vest and pulled him closer.

"I tell you everything, soon. But now I think there's someone waiting for you."

As she said that the ship pulled up to the dock and she saw her beloved lab barking and spinning in circles on the dock, followed closely by Theresa. They disembarked and Tasha threw herself into her Mistress's arms.

"Another friend of yours?" asked Garth, a little amused.

"More like a sister." said Sparrow, her eyes shining as much as they had when Maze appeared.

"Yes I missed you too girl, I missed you too." She hugged her dog and ruffled her floppy ears, letting her lick her face neck.

"Your furry friend has been coming everyday for a week. It seems she knew you would return even before I did." For the first time Maze had seen a genuine smile crossed Theresa's face, then vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"I think you'll want these Sparrow." She handed the little Hero a leather bag.

"My things?" Sparrow asked.

Theresa nodded, then turned to Garth.

"Garth, I welcome you."

"Welcome me?" the dark skinned mage stepped forward.

"You in my way, now please step aside."

He tried to brush past her but she did not budge.

"You know much of the Old Kingdom, enough to know you cannot destroy the Spire alone. I suggest you listen to what we can offer you."

Garth glanced back at Maze. Theresa was right, in that he knew he needed help to bring Lucien down, but he thought he'd already taken those measures. Still he looked at Theresa again, and though very grudgingly, took her hand. Together they disappeared in a blue light surely heading to the Chamber of Fate.

"What was that?" Sparrow's voice startled him a little.

"That look you two had, what was that?"

"Nothing, I told you we met before. There is much connecting us."

Sparrow wrinkled her nose but did not pursue the question, for now. Maze could tell that hiding his origins from her was going to get much harder.


	15. Chapter 14: Stranger Than Fiction

Chapter 14

Sparrow seemed almost her old chipper self, back in her favored clothes and with Tasha running by her side, but Maze could see some of her spring and cheer was sapped. As they walked along he placed a hand on her shoulder. She surprised him by whirling around yanking his head down for a kiss that seemed to suck the air from him. When she finally let his mouth go she buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms around him, hiding her hands beneath his robe. He thought she was crying until he heard her sigh contently.

"I missed you…" she murmured.

"I know." He placed a hand on her head and the other at her waist.

"Maze."

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Maze closed his eyes and sighed.

"If you must."

Sparrow kept her head hidden against his chest.

"You're a strange man, but I don't mind that. What I mind is being lied to. I had a lot of time to think in the Spire. And I realized that there wasn't so much as a whisper about in all the years I lived. The way folks jump on stories about heroes, there'd have been something floating about, even when I was a girl."

Now she looked up, but still didn't lift her head.

"Where are you really from? Samarkand, like Garth?"

Maze took a moment, thinking through everything very carefully.

"Maze," she pleaded, " please trust me. I trusted you for four years, trusted that you'd find a way to help me and Garth. Maze, I…"

He put a finger to her lips.

"You may not believe what I'll tell you."

Sparrow now looked up at him fully, a small hint of confusion on her delicate features. One more deep breath and he spoke.

"I knew Scarlet Robe, and her son. I headed up the Guild, I participated in the coup that cleansed it. I trained with Heroes whose names have become no more that whispers in the wind. I was the most powerful being of my time, bested only by your ancestor."

The confusion on her face had spread but before she could say a word he continued.

"I was a tool though, and because of that Sabre killed me. Four years ago Garth's servant and companion begged him to bring me back. That man died one night, and I rose in his place."

"Maze…"

He kissed her forehead.

"Maze I asked you to trust me, nobody can come back form the dead, I've seen ghosts in my day but coming flesh and blood is impossible."

He shook his head.

"I know a way or to show you it's true. Hang on."

Maze summoned his Will and teleported them to the Chamber of Fate. Sparrow loosened her grip on him and looked around her.

"The old tomb?"

"No, this is an ancient place, and not a resting place. Look," he walked over to one of the tapestries.

"Here is Scarlet Robe."

Indeed the cloth showed a proud, strong women chopping the head off a Balverine with a great eagle shaped axe.

"There is her son."

He pointed to an image of a boy, watching his town burn, being brought to the hallowed halls of the Guild, training day and night, finally standing as a handsome young man in gleaming armor. Sparrow walked closer to the image of the man, looking at his face. He smiled with serene confidence, ready to tackle everything he would endure in life knowing he at last had the power to do so.

"I never really noticed these things the first time I came here." She said.

"The Chamber of Fate tells the stories of many great Heroes." Maze walked up to her, then past her to the center of room, standing on the great platform.

"Only a Guild Head could do this." He said, and thrust his hand into the air. Magic swirled form his fingers into the shaft light, then broke off towards the keystones of the arches. The stones glowed, and the magic filtered down towards the tapestries, changing them. New images showed many things, the Guild overrun by selfish, corrupt Heroes in the wake of its founder's death, a revolution led by two young, pure Heroes and their eventual rise to great power.

Sparrow paused at one of them, it depicted one of the Heroes, a man wearing golden mail and robes of blue and purple, he stood like a king and wielded magic like the Archon himself. His face though, it had Will lines, like every mage unique to the person, his hair was neck length and shining white, and he had a very distinct cleft chin. Sparrow turned slowly, and looked at Maze.

He still stood in the light, high on the platform, holding his staff and smiling knowingly. His Will lines were still charged, the magic pulsing through them making them look as though they were moving. Sparrow walked up to him, and traced a finger along the lines identical to ones on the man in the tapestry.

"Its impossible…" she whispered.

"Its true." He said. " Garth preformed the spell, and a man sacrificed himself to bring me back with this." He held out the dagger, its rubies glinting in the light.

"That looks like an evil thing." Sparrow said.

"It was used with the hope for good."

Sparrow looked him in the eye and took a few steps back.

"Its not fair." She said.

"I know, I asked Garth about the man…"

"Not the man!" she yelled, "Rose! If people can come back why can't Rose?" she fell to her knees, her face buried in her hands being wrenched by her sobs.

Maze slowly made his way down the steps and carefully moved to her side, kneeling by her. He gingerly put a hand on her back she leaned into his chest, still sobbing. He wrapped her up in his robe and his arms, letting her hide in the black cloth and find some measure of comfort. Eventually she stopped crying and just stayed sheltered in his arms.

"I am sorry." He said softly, nuzzling her hair, "Perhaps I should not of told you."

"No," her voice was little more than a squeak, "I'm fine. Thank you." She leaned off her knees and moved closer to him. They were silent for the longest time, and in the Chamber buried deep under the lake, silence was perhaps the most consuming.

"I wonder," Sparrow said suddenly, "does this mean you're the same age your were when you died, or are you over 5 centuries old?"

Maze looked down at her, her face was still streaked with dried tears but her normal smile was reappearing.

"I really don't know." He said, rubbing her cheek.

"Does Lucien have any inkling?"

"I doubt it. I'd be surprised if he even heard of me, well, my past self at least."

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to keep the same name."

Maze shrugged slightly.

"I didn't want to change my name then, I didn't now."

Sparrow chuckled a little, and started to stand up. He kept at least one hand on her as they walked back to the Cullis Gate.

"Sparrow I…"

"If you're worried about me telling, don't. I know better than to let something like this slip. And if you're still worried about telling me this, stop. I'm fine, I'm glad you trusted me with the truth however odd it may be."

She smiled fully now and pecked his lips.

"I like odd people anyway."

She looked around and raised an eyebrow.

"Where's Tasha?"

Maze gulped.

"Oh, I think we left her behind."

"Oh crap!"

Sparrow vaulted into the Cullis Gate, Maze threw himself in after her. When he appeared on top of Bower Hill he saw nothing but heard a dog barking. Sparrow was just down the path wrestling with her lab and rubbing her belly.

"Oh I'm so sorry girl, I swear it'll never never happen again, oooh, that's a good girl."

However unhappy the dog may have been when they disappeared she was in seventh heaven now.

"I'm sorry we left her behind Sparrow." Said Maze.

Before Sparrow said anything Tasha jumped up and ran up to him, putting her front paws on his stomach and trying to lick him despite how much taller he was. Maze tried to push her back down but ended up getting his hand covered in slobber. He grimaced and shook his hand off, then bent down and wiped it on the grass. He absolutely refused to get dog drool on his robes. The sun was setting as they made their way down the hill, Maze suggested they get to Bowerstone and rent a room for the night.

He partially regretted that suggestion when they got to Bowerstone. On top of winning the Crucible, returning form the Spire after four years had made him and Sparrow the biggest celebrities in Albion. Maze liked having some admirers but being absolutely swarmed the second he came to town was not something he was fond of. He seriously had to rein in the urge to bash several people over the head with his staff while he and Sparrow inched their way across Market Square and into the Cow and Corset.

The innkeeper happily gave them a nice discount of their room; Maze was relieved to finally leave the fawning crowd behind. Sparrow was far more tired than she cared to let on, the second she saw that big inviting bed she felt her eyelids begin to droop and her legs get heavier. She sat down on the bed and pried her long boots off, hung her coat and mask on the chair and burrowed beneath the blankets. She heard the rustling and clicking of Maze removing his won robes and leather armor, then the clunks of his thigh boots hitting the floor.

It wasn't until she felt his arms encircle her and his body mold against hers that she remembered there was only the one bed in the room. She felt as if his presence next to her was sending her to sleep even faster, the sound of his breathing and the feel of his heartbeat soothed her to the point that all thoughts melted away. He didn't seem to notice however, and insisted on making her talk.

"Well, what is the next step in our journey, now that Garth is back?"

Sparrow yawned.

"Third Hero, skill. Must find." She murmured.

"Hmm, a Hero of skill. Perhaps we ought to talk to Theresa."

"Mh-hm." She managed a small nod.

Maze opened his mouth to speak again but thought better of it; Sparrow was sipping away if not already gone. He planted a tiny kiss on her temple and let his mind go to work. A Hero of skill must be found. In his years in the Spire Maze had complete access not only to the project itself but to Lucien's information network as well. He searched his memories of the exceptional individuals Lucien had been tracking, those with the potential to be Heroes. Skill specialists in his day were more than crack shots, they were masters of stealth and deceit, and uncommonly quick of foot and hand. Also skill specialists seemed to be the ones who preferred to live closer to the criminal world, their abilities made them fit right in with all manner of thieves, grifters, brigands, and thugs.

One man stood out to him. A famous pirate captain; often called the King of Pirates and with good reason. He was reputed to be able to kill a ship's captain from a mile away in foul weather with a single shot and according to rumor had done so with ease on many occasions. He was also known to be completely amoral, not above any kind of betrayal, selfishness, arrogance, or trivial indulgence.

Maze recalled every bit of information that had been collected on the man, and everything showed him to inhumanly fast, having more guile than a scheming magpie and on top of that the legends of his prowess with a firearm were certainly proof enough to Maze at least that he was the Hero of skill. One thing in particular made the pirate stand out, he was supposed to be over 200 years old, and yet had never lost his captivating features. Maze knew full well all Archon descendents are incredibly long lived, but they all aged. The fact that he may not have was cause for worry.


	16. Chapter 15:Lovely, but Deadly

Chapter 15

Maze stood with Sparrow and Tasha knee deep in the muck of Wraithmarsh. His height allowed him to stay reasonably clean but Sparrow was in up to her thighs, and the dog was having the worst of it.

"Maze wait! Tasha is stuck!"

Maze turned around with some difficultly and slogged back to Sparrow, who was desperately holding Tasha up out of the thick mud. Maze put stuck his staff down into the stiffer mud and wrapped his arms under the dog's belly. With a few heaves he managed to pick the lab up out of the muck and hoist her onto his shoulders.

"Please don't squirm, Tasha." He said. The animal seemed to understand him and kept quite still. Sparrow pulled his staff out of the mud and held it above her head as they forged forward.

"I know it's been 500 years, but how did this monstrosity of nature spring up?" Maze grunted.

"All I know is legends."

"Tell me," he said, "we have time."

"They say that a young man from Oakvale bartered the souls of his whole town for eternal youth to the Shadow Court. This marsh sprang up in the wake of the spell, and with no one to reign it in, it devoured everything."

"I could believe that." Said Maze as he dragged his feet through the mud, trying to ignore the farting noises it made.

"Any mention as to who that young man was?"

"None, but I have theory." Said Sparrow.

"Let me guess, the pirate captain Reaver."

"Nail on the head."

"How much longer does this marsh go for?" he asked.

"We should be about halfway through, we skipped a good deal with that Cullis Gate you found."

"Thank Avo." Maze sighed.

There a small moment of silence and Sparrow spoke up.

"You do know that Avo never existed right? Some trader found the Will lines on the Temple of Skorm and Temple of Avo sites produced negative and positive effects, so he decided to found churches there and used the collection money to get obscenely rich. Actually I think his name was Grey."

Maze rolled his eyes.

"Thank you for tearing down another memory from my previous life. But doesn't that put the Temple of Light and the Temple of Shadow into great doubt as well?"

He heard nothing in retort from her.

"One can easily argue that all religion is irrational and detrimental to society. But I prefer not to just now. Please ignore any invocations to Avo on my part, its really just force of habit."

"Alright," said Sparrow, trying not to lose her boot in the vacuum like muck, "just watch your invocations around others. Avo isn't even mentioned by the oldest of folks anymore."

They slogged along for hours, till at last they found some good, firm, dry land. Maze got down on his knees and bent over, letting Tasha climb off his shoulders. She got mud all over the back of his neck and coat as she did. Maze grumbled to himself as he stood, trying to wipe some of it off. Sparrow pulled herself out of the mud and collapsed on the ground, still holding his staff.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Just very tired."

He sat down next to her, glad of the rest himself. Tasha lay down by him, and heaved a huge sigh. Maze raised an eyebrow at the dog.

"Why are you acting tired? You rode on my shoulders the whole way."

Tasha lifted her head and tilted it, giving him that innocent puppy look. Maze shook his head and looked back to Sparrow. She laid spread eagled on the ground, staring blankly at the gray skies. A tiny, cheeky smile came to his face and he bent over, placing a few small kisses on the rise of her breasts.

"What are you doing?" her tone was playful.

"Four years, that's a long time for anyone." He said, his hand slipping down to tease her sex just a little.

"Not the best place." She clamped her legs shut.

"True, but I think a little taste can be had." His mouth met hers, and he quickly slipped his tongue in before she could say anything else. He'd almost forgotten this sweetness, and after 500 hundred years dead forgetting sex was one thing he did not want to do.

By the time he released her moth she'd wrapped her arms around him and was running her hands through his hair, which had grown much longer since they parted. She played idly with a few locks, relishing how soft they were. His free hand had already slipped under her shirt to cup a breast, and he kissed his way down her neck to suckle it. Sparrow moaned softly as he did, hugging his shoulders and holding his head to her chest.

Suddenly Maze felt a blade come right down on his back, he leapt off of Sparrow and whirled around to burn his attacker to a crisp with his Fire spells. Yet he saw nothing. He heard Sparrow cry out as something attacked her as well, she got to her feet and spun about.

"Where the hell are they!" she growled.

They both stood very still, ears straining to pick up any movement. More attacks literally came out of nowhere. Maze swung his staff; it whistled through the air but connected with nothing.

"What is going on?" Sparrow began firing randomly into the brush, trying to defend herself. Maze let his magic flare up and felt about for any other spell users. He was surrounded by powerful magic, it hung in the air like a fog, but he sensed no people nearby; no living beings to control it. Even Jack's minions had been beacons of magic, breathing, moving bodies he could hone in on, but this was nothing like that.

He remained still, then sensed whatever it was that was stalking them gather energy for another attack. A blade materialized out of the thick spell and came straight at him. Maze charged his Physical Shield; but for the first ever in any of his lifetimes it didn't block the blow.

"That is enough!" he yelled, and released a torrent of pure energy.

The magic force was knocked back but quickly began to gather again. Maze grabbed Sparrow's arm and pulled her with him.

"Hurry!"

"What is happening?"

"I don't know, just move."

Tasha ran after them, trying to keep pace. No matter how fast they went Maze stills sensed the dark aura around them, thick as the mud of the swamp. Suddenly he stopped dead.

"What is it now?" Sparrow demanded.

"Will line, we just stepped onto a Will line."

"So?"

Maze placed his staff directly on it.

"I can try to teleport us on this."

He felt the dark magic gather for another attack.

"Grab Tasha." He said.

Sparrow grabbed her dog by the scruff of the neck, and he held onto her arm, and summoned his mana reserves. They disappeared in a flash of blue light, but traveling to Bloodstone was not as easy as he thought. He had to fight to get to the town's Cullis Gate, fight against an unnatural flow in the Will line, pulling far to the west of Albion. Still he managed to get them to Bloodstone, though he felt incredibly drained when they materialized again. Sparrow had surely felt what was going on to, and she turned to him with questioning eyes.

"That couldn't have been, the Spire?"

"I'm afraid it was. We're running out of time."

Bloodstone had improved some since they're last visit, the roads were paved with cobbles, the houses looked far sturdier and cleaner, there was a little more legitimate business going on. But if the plethora of grubby, garishly dressed, and venal men roaming the streets was any indication, Toby's departure at Maze's 'behest' was only a part of the town's change.

Maze was loathe to think of any part of Albion becoming a haven for pirates, but with the current era's lawlessness and the isolation of Bloodstone itself there was very little to stop it. It was easy to fins their way to Reaver's lavish mansion. All of the town's roads seemed to converge to the mansion's door, underscoring this man's effect of the settlement. As they approached one of the burly pirate guards gestured to them.

"Oi! Here to see Reaver are you? He's in the salon, he's expecting ya."

Maze and Sparrow walked slowly into the mansion, keeping senses peeled for any ambushes. The inside was just as ornate and lavish as the outside, and to Maze's relief had an air of good taste about it. Hanging on the walls however were many a grizzly trophy of Reaver's less than savory exploits.

The man himself was in a sitting room in the back of the house, posing heroically with pistol in and hand and one foot on an orange crate. He had very fair skin, unusual for someone who spends most of their time under the sea's sun, and feathery brown hair painstakingly styled to suit his delicate bone structure. He had a beauty mark drawn on his face, but unlike most people he deserved it.

His was built very lightly but his superb health was very apparent. Any admiration of his looks however, was quickly tempered by the look of arrogance on his lovely face. His clothes also spoke of this, golden silk and burgundy velvet say few other things than wealthy and vain.

Reaver glanced at them as they entered, barely even turning his head to do so. He remained as still as a statue, fitting considering the sculptor working on huge block of marble not a few feet away.

"My my, what a visitation. My men are all a twitter about you two, who are these people? Have heroes returned to Albion? Who is the man with power over nature, blah, blah, blah, I don't really care."

He waved his pistol about as he spoke, the artist chipping away at the stone shivered as he did.

"But you see I asked around and I found out something very interesting. I seems you two and another enterprising fellow managed to waltz out of Lucien's Spire."

"Hardly fresh news, or even hard to hear. Rumors find their way even through Wraithmarsh with ease." Said Maze.

A small frown passed over Reaver's face, he kept his eyes locked on the statue of himself taking form.

"Yes, still you've made quite a stir with your exploits. And unless I've missed my guess- incidentally I never miss- you want me to storm back in there with you and take him down."

Reaver chuckled darkly and shook his head, his hair flashing golden highlights from the firelight.

"Tempting, I'm sure Lucien has secreted away many a fine treasure in there, but you see while you've done many things around Albion, you haven't done anything that benefits me."

"I don't normally make a point of helping brigands and slave traders." Maze said, a slight snarl on his lips. "I suppose you could say old habits die hard."

Reaver quirked an eyebrow at that though he seemed annoyed at Maze's retorts.

"I suppose, yes. I am prepared to change my position however, provided you run a little errand for me. There's a certain item I need returned to its rightful owners. They live in an enchanting place called the Shadow Court, in the center of Wraithmarsh. I'd do it myself but my relationship with them is… complicated at best. And while my associates here are useful the majority aren't terribly reliable."

He jerked his back, towards a table near the door.

"The item I need returned is just there. See? See? See that little objet d'art?"

Sparrow, who had been staring slack-jawed at the pirate this whole time turned and picked up a very large, dark metal seal. Just seeing it made Maze shiver.

"You do this for me and I'll join the pair of you on your quest for vengeance, or riches, or whatever floats your particular boat."

He turned his head back to the sculptor and Sparrow tucked the evil artifact into her pack.

"Good, that's a good girl."

Maze wrinkled his nose as this pretty boy talked to his woman like she was a dog, and looked at her like she was some treat for the taking. He contained his rage but could not stop his Will lines from flaring. Reaver noticed and took his eyes away from Sparrow but probably not from any fear.

"Just come back and see me again when you've dropped it off at the Shadow Court. Tatty-bye."

Maze held back a snicker at the rather childish good-bye from this thief and murderer. They walked out of the mansion they heard Reaver's voice; apparently he was unhappy with how his buttocks were being portrayed. A shot rang out and there was a thud, Sparrow jumped as she heard it and fought to keep her last meal inside her stomach. Maze put an arm around her.

"We can't save them all."

"That's not what bothers me about him."

"Oh," Maze raised an eyebrow, "then what does?"

"Your going to think this is shallow, but he almost seems too… handsome to have a personality like that."

Maze rolled his eyes.

"Sparrow, that is shallow, and a little naive."

She hung her head.

"But, its not the first time I've seen women forgive a man his sins based looks and charm. You should come to expect such behavior from men like him, they depend on you looking only at their face and ignoring their motives."

Sparrow leaned against him, and smiled to herself.

"Good thing my man has 500 years of experience under his belt."

"Actually only about 90 years, I was dead for the last 500."

"90?" she looked up in surprise. "You look like your 45."

He smiled, and she could swear she saw a small flush in his cheeks.

"Descendent of the Archon, just like you. Time doesn't treat us the same as other people."

"I am not looking forward to going back into that damn marsh." She patted Tasha's head, looking at the dry mud still matted in the dog's fur.

"Neither am I, but we need him, he knows it, and he's too experienced to let us talk him into anything else."

"What do you think this Shadow Court is going to be like?"

Maze closed his eyes a moment.

"I prefer not to think on that, but you can be sure it'll be the darkest and most oppressing place you'll ever see."


	17. Chapter 16: Sacrifice

Chapter 16

Brittle skulls flew apart, scraps of clothing burst into flame, rusted weapons fell to the ground as Maze one shot yet another sad group of shambling undead. Sparrow tromped behind, whacking random weeds with her sword.

"Could you at least save one or two for me?" she whined.

Maze smirked.

Tasha trotted behind them, stopping every few seconds to scratch off swamp bugs.

"I almost hope we run into something worse than hollow men." She moaned.

"Try to squelch them. I'd prefer our way to the Shadow Court be less treacherous than the Court itself."

Sparrow groaned again and whacked another innocent plant.

Maze was worried about meeting these 'Shadow Judges' for more than the obvious reasons. Beings from another, darker facet of existence stealing the life force of others to keep one person alive and young; and the name 'Shadow Court'. It sounded uncannily close to another Court.

Finally they arrived at an ancient crypt door. It bore a crest exactly like the seal Reaver had given them.

Sparrow tripped through some bramble bushes and fell into maze's shoulder.

"Sor- oh. Not good."

The door was set into a small granite hill that bore evidence of repeated charring. It wasn't the door itself that put her off, it was the fact that hollow men who had been relentless till now wouldn't come when twenty feet of it. They formed a semi circle around the two heroes but took not one step closer.

"Perhaps you should wait here Sparrow."

She pinched one of his ribs, then pushed the door open and strode into the cold, dark depths. Maze rubbed his side and followed her in, the door shutting tight behind them.

The moment they were inside they heard a girl crying. They followed the sound through winding, ruined passageways meeting no opposition. They came to a wrought iron gate, beyond which was a hole and a small drop. The gate had no lock, and to Maze that was a sure sign.

Tasha growled and Sparrow turned to see the thick shadows of the crypt forming into menacing shapes. They flew over the walls and surrounded the two of them.

Maze tapped his staff on the floor and conjured a flame on the crown of his staff that did not burn it. The shadows cowered at the sudden bright light and Sparrow threw a small fireball into the thickest part of the group. Many dodged but several were hit and disintegrated into glowing ash. Maze slammed his staff down again and unleashed his Enflame, knocking all the shadows back and burning dozens.

Furious, the shadow people lunged at him and he was forced to use his sword to keep them back. The Tear of Avo sliced through them like hot butter but for everyone that fell a dozen more rose from the darkness. Sparrow was hunched over like she'd been hit but from the corner of his eye he saw her will lines flaring and felt the air growing thick with powerful magic.

With a scream she let her Will burst from her and consumed the entire room in virulent flame. Every single shadow was ashed, and every last crevice was briefly lit giving the darkness no chance to re-spawn. While flames still licked the stones Sparrow doubled over, breathing like she had just run 10 miles.

"Magic still takes a lot out of me." She said as Maze placed a hand on her shoulder.

The gate behind them rattled and screeched as it pulled up. Sparrow put an arm around Maze and made the short jump with him. Tasha followed close behind, licking her mistress's boots. Sparrow let go of him but her gait was much slower. Her will reserves her very shallow; during her training Maze had quickly realized that wielding magic would never be very natural for her.

The crying grew louder and they finally found its source. Not a mirage or a decoy but a real, innocent girl. She whipped around when she heard footsteps her eyes wide with fear but when she saw them she calmed and wiped away a few tears.

"Are you here to help me?" she sniffed.

"How did you get?" Maze asked.

"Um," she dipped her head and clasped her hands, "My friends and I… we were reading this old book we found. It was filled with these strange words, and then there was a bright light, and…and I woke up here."

Sparrow slapped her forehead.

"Why do people always read from old magic tomes?" she groaned.

Before anyone could say another word sound like howling wind filled the chamber, but there was no wind. Across the chasm in the room three gilded thrones of bones appeared, and in those three robed figures of black mist and shining white eyes materialized.

"**Welcome**." They said one by one in identical, booming voices.

"**We sense the presence of the Dark Seal**."

"**But there are three, only one is required.**"

Maze sized the apparitions up. They were nowhere near as powerful as he had feared, but felt a similarity between them and Jack. Jack was one of the rulers of his world of evil, these were mid level scions.

"The Shadow Judges, I presume?" Maze made a mocking bow. "You remind me of someone I met a long time ago, name of Jack."

The Judges sat in cool silence for a long moment.

"**Who will trade their youth and beauty so the King of Thieves may keep his**?"

"Ugh, just like shades to ignore a person." He muttered. He stepped over to Sparrow and thrust a hand at her.

"Give me the seal."

"Why?"

"Just do it. What's aging a little more after being in a grave for centuries?"

"No!" Sparrow grabbed her bag and held it close to her, "What if the spell kills you?"

"It won't, Sparrow."

"How do you know?"

"I don't, you have far more to lose just give me the seal!"

They bickered back and forth, Maze grabbed her bag; the seal tumbled out and they dove to the floor and started a tug of war over it. The girl looked on with disbelief and the Judges watched with the same blank, uncaring gazes.

"Why are you two fighting over this?" the girl finally asked.

"Errr… long story, no time." Sparrow said through clenched teeth.

"**A choice must be made."**

Maze and Sparrow kept wrestling over the seal, till it was yanked away from both of them.

They looked over to see the girl engulfed in smoke. When it faded it wasn't a girl holding the seal, it was a haggard tiny old woman. Her eyes still told her true age though, and they locked onto Sparrow.

"Sparrow, the hero of Bowerstone?" she said in a dry, cracked voice.

"Why?" Sparrow squeaked.

"I read that book because I thought it would have to something that could bring someone I loved back to me. Lucien's men took him years ago. You came back from Lucien's tower, maybe you can stand up to him and…bring everyone whose suffered at his hands some justice." Tears welled up in this newly aged woman's eyes. "So many are mourning their loved ones, without even knowing if they're alive or dead. If one of you got old you wouldn't be able to fight him."

"Your sacrifice was not required." Said Maze.

She shook her head.

"I'm fine, at least now I won't have to wait so long to see him again."

With that she dropped the seal and walked out.

"**So the sacrifice has been made, and the King of Thieves is immortal still. This is the bargain we honor. But when the sacrifices stop, we will come for him. This he knows**."

With that the Shadow Judges disappeared.

Maze picked himself up off the ground and grabbed Sparrow's half spilt bag. As he started putting her supplies back in she rubbed her face in her dirty palms.

"I feel like such a minger." She muttered.

Maze couldn't really think of anything to say.


End file.
